Sweet Affinity (Ariana Reines)

There's a line from the movie The History Boys that goes "The best moments in reading are when you come across something-- a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things that you'd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it's as if a hand has come out and taken yours."  A great line because that is the best thing about, well, more than just reading.  Palpable tremors of affinity that occur during the course of reading (or song-listening, or art-experiencing, or conversation-having) are best in general because of the enormous relief of feeling understood (an agonizingly rare sensation). 

I mention this because today, I read Couer De Lion by Ariana Reines and every single sentence felt like a secret handshake.

I read the first page and immediately had to text my friend Matt, provider of the library-borrowed copy I was holding:

"Oh my god I think I'm in love with Ariana Rienes...she *knows*...

"It's like she wrote this *for me* to read.  Every single thing is the most validating truth I've ever read.  I'm like, laughing out loud on the train at how much it feels like she's read my mind"

I read the whole book on the train, laughing and nodding and shaking my head in awe.  I also texted my friend Anna who is a poet and lives in Minneapolis:

"I'm reading a book of poems by Ariana Reines right now on the train: "Coeur De Lion." It's SO GOOD, you HAVE to read it!!  They're so simple and honest and true, they make me feel like my truth could matter

"I intend to write you a whole letter about it when I get home!"

I was gonna pull some choice excerpts for this post, but I can't because the whole thing is choice excerpts.  I just have to buy my own copy and go through it and underline all of the things and write frantic notes and feel the bestness again forever.

But here's a video of Ariana reading excerpts of her dreams (!!) and excerpts from Coeur De Lion at Stain Bar in Brooklyn in 2008 anyway: