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Book Review: Lullabies by Lang Leav

This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at VCU chapter.

Her Campus was nice enough to send us a copy of award-winning poet Lang Leav’s book Lullabies. The sequel to Leav’s first book of poems Love & Misadventure, Lullabies is a great read for anyone in or out of love which made it a perfect gift for any poetry lovers.

The book features illustrations by Leav, and the cover alone catches the eye. A soft black base with the title embellished in gold serves as a picture frame of sorts for a young woman resting peacefully. The book is divided into three parts: “Duet,” “Interlude” and “Finale.” An illustration accompanies the beginning of each new chapter. “Duet” features the titular poem “Lullabies” which describes how you can miss the details of a love’s life and still know them romantically.

Leav’s writing style has moments that mimic classic poetry style a la Emily Dickinson, but most of the time she holds a more modern tone. At some points she rhymes frustration over lost love, like in her poem “A Letter.” In other poems Leav transitions into the role of a storyteller, breaking away from traditional rules to weave tales of lovers. What makes Leav a strong poet is her ability to write about an array of romantic experiences that a variety of people can relate to. Although some of her poems felt too gushy for me, I know another person could read it and totally feel the words in a different way.

If you liked Taylor Swift’s album Red, I would definitely recommend Lang Leav’s poetry. Like Swift, Leav could easily be dismissed by critics as a simple hopeless romantic. However, it seems evident to this reader that Leav is well aware of her romantic tendencies and she does an excellent job of putting her feelings into words. Her final poem in Lullabies “The End” is a great example Leav’s style.

According to her Twitter, Leav is currently writing a novel and if it is anything like her poetry I’m sure it will be filled with many musings about love. If you are interested in checking out Lang Leav’s work, samples of Lullabies and Love & Misadventure are available at amazon.com. Many thanks to Her Campus for giving us the chance to check out lovely poems about love!

Images from: tumblr.com, blogspot.com, and pintrest.com

Keziah is a writer for Her Campus. She is majoring in Fashion Design with a minor in Fashion Merchandising. HCXO!