I wanted to write a review for this work for my blog, Cobleskill Commentaries; however, I have not been able to write about it comprehensively, so I am going to provide a concise review here.

Alphabet Soup, written by A. Gregory Frankson, is an anthology of twenty-six short essays about the writer's personal lived experiences, using the letters to help springboard him into the scenario he is speaking about. The concept is innovative; however, like many poetic works, there is something too personal about Frankson's pieces, and readers end up not being able to take part in what he is going through. You want to feel what Frankson feels, but it is almost impossible because of the abstractness of the prose. Admittedly, there are occasional moments where connection happens, and in those moments readers can feel a bit of comfort from knowing what the writer knows.. With that said, oftentimes spoken-word poetry does not read well on the printed page; and, that is what unfortunately happened here. The letters in this soup are just too jumbled.

My first ever prose poetry collection read.

Alphabet Soup by A. Gregory Frankson is a compilation of 26 poetic letters. Each addresses a letter in the alphabet and a word that begins with that letter. The collection is a delicious soup of various emotions and thoughts experienced by its author. I devoured every one of them.

I love reading poetry. It challenges my mind and provides a fresh perspective on language, the world, and myself. To be honest, I have never read poetry in prose. Never. For me, it turned out to be an absorbing experience, and I’m grateful that I picked up this collection specifically.

A. Gregory Frankson’s language is rich in metaphors and descriptions; it’s intelligent and thought-provoking. It’s not like other poetry books that you can read half-asleep. You need to be fully awake and functioning to understand the extensiveness of his writing. That is why it took me quite some time to finish this one.

I liked how Frankson played with AI to build a structure for this collection. He asked AI to provide a sequence of letters different from the alphabet that had to start with the letter I. Such a symbolic choice.

Each poem raises Frankson’s personal experiences, and I should say its variety strikes right into the heart. Each letter has an addressee, a mysterious “you” who differs from letter to letter—a child, a friend, a relative, a teacher, or a spouse—and every time you feel that the poet refers to you, not another person.

I have highlighted many fragments from these letters but attached only my favorites to this post. I hope you will see their depth through them and pick up this collection. A. Gregory Frankson, my congratulations on the first publication! I hope to read more of your poetry one day. I thank Dundurn Press and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy.