I was excited to read Rain & Embers because finding a collection of poetry that I really enjoy has proven difficult for me in the past. But Nuri’s book had the perfect formatting for me. The poems were not too short to where I barely understood the meaning, and not to long so that I didn’t get lost or lose interest. I also had yet to read a poetry book with these themes
and it intrigued me.
Rain & Embers is an easy to read, easy to feel collection of poetry. It didn’t take long for me to gather the themes and emotions of this book. I enjoyed the way Nuri merged two languages throughout the book, telling the story in a different form that doesn’t always require the reader to fully understand what is being said. I found Nuri’s line use enjoyable and pleasing to the eye throughout Rain & Embers. Nuri uses short lines that make the poems seamless and easy to follow, the end and beginning of each line proving an emphasis I otherwise may not have caught.
The way Nuri made his book almost feel like poetic journal entries was a beneficial choice when writing his book. It took me a step further inside the writer’s mind; much like in the poem Pantone 448 C when he wrote “a prisoner refugee places in Saudi concentration camps–money branded it with a pretty name”. This style of writing made me see and feel the way Nuri worked to change his perception of the word, and it was a pleasant surprise to find whilst reading.