Reflecting Myself in My Work

In the book review, Glistening as it vanishes, Ben Wilkinson comments on the third full collection of Maura Dooley's poems, Life Underwater. He comments that the author has improved her works, comparing them to her previous volumes but he concludes that she still has lots of space for improvement.

He also criticizes the title of the book since he doesn't agree with its appropriateness since only few poems mention wetness while most are based on other drier topics. He declares, "Life under water is a somewhat misleading title..."However, he also gives positive feedback on the work, he congratulates and acknowledges the author on the improvement of her factual reference. She is now including historical events on her works but she is blending them in a way in which one feels them flow and bend with the rest of the writing. She has also included the historical facts in ways that one can infer that she knows about the topic while in her previous works many times her references didn't really make sense or connected with the point that was being tried to get across. Still Dooley keeps her personal style and expresses her talent in a way that only she knows how to do.

One of the most important traits about an author, in my opinion, is his/her style. This is very important because it takes a reader to have its own personality plus it becomes recognizable and unique. Due to the fluidity and richness that voice can give a piece of work is that we, as students, are taught since young to give a unique personal touch to each work. Placing your signature on your work in an indirect form is not always easy to do. This is an ability that you might have been very lucky to have come naturally since you were born, but on the most part you don't have it, you develop it. Teachers give us the basics on what it is and after that only practice can develop it to have what you want. You readers will easily recognize your works and you will be able to leave a little bit of yourself in each and every one of your works. It will eventually come off naturaly and you will see that all your works have that little something that you made them bring to life.