BOOK REVIEW
The Daylight Plays Tricks on Us, by Julieanne Hoffman is a melancholy read of an contemporary poetry collection dealing with the rawness of her hurt, sorrows, and sadness. It’s a universal read as the book unfolds weaving together the story of her life. Although it’s overall intense, there’s a sense of purpose to make sense of all she’s gone through with powerful emotions that bring each piece to life.
The writer turned to writing to deal with her grief, learning to express love, and how she began to question everything. Opening the book reminiscing on regretful times wishing for silence and now torn by a devastating separation, it’s a delicate read with heart wrenching lines to portray the loss and grief she endured.
There’s a lot to process in this book regarding mental health, how music keeps her sane, and the strength she unknowingly presents as she soaks in the memories. Although there’s plenty of self-destructive moments in which the pain consumes her, the sense of longing drenched in numbness ties the story together well.
As a new love presents itself, she beautifully writes, “forever sounds like just enough time to know you,” with a sense of things improving. Until she begins to feel homeless in her own body, torn and heartbroken again, she pens, “words on a page can't fade away as fast as you, so I write.” From knowing herself, she tells one cannot be her sun in the morning as she can’t risk being left in darkness again.” It’s a powerful line expressing her stillness in resilience, then facing new adventures and desires with hunger to change.
The writer begins to put effort into searching for the bad guy, then seeing she mirrors her worst fears. “They say time heals all wounds, the clock must be broken,” she longs. Then regretting holding herself back it’s a thought-provoking line with her depth as she realises she’s built to soar. There’s a sense of the five stages of grief present, and once she recognises her strength but she’s not doing as well as she would like to be, doubt sets in.
Including stories about the loss of a parent, losing love and finding oneself again, and dealing with mental health, there’s something for everyone with this poetry collection. The author really dug deep into her feelings and experiences and poured her soul into these poems that are truthfully heartfelt.
Accompanied by illustrations, it adds more beauty to the book complimenting the poems perfectly adding a further glimpse into the author’s heart and mind. It’s truly a devastating and captivating read with depthful emotions that will engage the reader from the first page.
The Daylights Plays Tricks on Us, is an emotional and incredibly raw read as the writer discusses topics of love, loss, and grief. Delicately written, it’s a beautiful read that brings the read on a journey from darkness to light. The transition from poem to poem really brought the stories to life in a wonderful yet rough way leaving a lasting impression.
Julieanne Hoffmann is a writer originally from New Jersey. She is the author of Proud of You, a memoir detailing her journey with grief following the loss of her mother. Primarily focused on poetry, she recently released her debut poetry book, The Daylight Plays Tricks on Us which centers on the interplay between night and day and the dark and light thoughts each brings. She has been writing for a majority of her life. Outside of writing she works in the architecture and construction industry, having studied architecture at Columbia University and real estate at Harvard University. Her focus is on creating poetry that her audience can connect with and can rely on as a source for healing.
Words by Danielle Holian
INTERVIEW
Tell us a bit about your writing background. What, or who, inspired you to start writing?
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I recently moved and while I was packing, I found notebooks filled with short stories and poems from when I was in middle school (all very angsty in typical teenage fashion). A big catalyst for me in my life in general and in my writing was losing my mom when I was 14. I began to take writing more seriously in college as it became an outlet for me to deal with her loss. For me, writing has always been a safe space to be as vulnerable and honest as I can with my emotions in a way that I didn’t feel like I could be in person with those around me. I spent five years writing my first book, Proud of You, which is a series of essays detailing my journey with grief and healing. I needed that book in so many ways and pushing myself to share it with the world gave me the confidence to start sharing more of my writing, which led to me starting my poetry page on Instagram.
And what influenced your debut poetry collection The Daylight Plays Tricks On Us?
My book is a mixture of different themes, centered on the idea of light and dark/ day and night. Each page represents one hour, and so every 12 pages the theme shifts from day to night. The daytime poems are much lighter, focused on love, self-love, and adventure with the night poems bringing in darker themes of anxiety, loss, and self-doubt. When I was first coming up with the idea for this book, I struggled with how different my poems were depending on when I wrote them, what mood I was in at the time, or what events had just taken place. So, I figured the best representation would be to have a narrative that is constantly shifting between those moods and experiences because that is how life works. Some days there is sadness, some days there is heartbreak, some days we fall in love and the world is magical. The inspiration for this book was collecting poems I had written at random- some in coffee shops on a Sunday morning, some in my bed listening to sad music, some in the notes app on my phone at a party. I wanted to include all of them to show the ebbs and flows of life, and that no matter how often the dark thoughts seep in at night, the morning will always come.
How has your life in general influenced your work?
So many of my everyday experiences bleed into my writing. I think one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with writing is because I sometimes struggle to share my emotions or tell people how I feel. There is no free space than a blank page - it holds no judgement, no time constraints, no embarrassment. All my deepest fears, my struggles with anxiety and loss, my adventures, and my happiness all find their way into my writing in different ways.
And how do you find the balance between writing about your own personal experiences and exploring topics that may not necessarily be autobiographical, but still speak to many people?
I tend to write mainly based on experience, but sometimes to make it more relatable to others I boil down the experience to the raw emotion rather than telling a full story. Focusing on emotions of heartbreak, loss, or love can be done in a way that is universal - and I think that is what makes poetry and writing in general is so powerful. My specific experience may not be relatable to everyone, but the feeling behind it usually is to some degree.
What makes a piece of your writing right to post on your Instagram, versus the ones that stay in the book?
The difference between what gets posted on Instagram and what stays in the book is purely a difference of process. I typically choose my photos first that I will be posting on Instagram for the week, and then each morning that I post I will sit with the photo and write a poem that stems from what I see or a memory it reminds me of. Usually, the poems that go in the book solely are ones that I write with no prompt or photo- usually just when I get in the zone and have a cup of coffee and write for an hour or so about whatever I am feeling at that moment.
And finally, what advice would you give to aspiring writers?
My biggest piece of advice- and something that I still struggle with now - is to stop being afraid. It is terrifying in a lot of ways to share your writing. You take the most vulnerable parts of yourself and put them out into the world for people to read and to judge and that is a hard thing to do, but it is also the most liberating feeling. You will surprise yourself with how many people can relate to the words you write, and creating that connection is invaluable. Don’t let your own doubts hold you back. If there is something you are passionate about and want to pursue, pour yourself into it. Everyone has a unique voice, and there will be people who want to hear yours.
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