Balancing the Antic Impulse and the Desire for Resonance

David Sewell's review of Young's poetry questions the balance of Young's poems. The concept of taking the serious seriously comes up a few times. This point criticizes Young's use of humor, pointing out that it takes away from the meaning of the poem and leaves less to resonate with the reader. While Young does use humor in his poetry, he strikes a balance with meaning creating poems that are enjoyable to read and resonate with the reader.

Sewell introduces Young's latest collection, Embryoyo, with this concept in mind. He writes that in Embryoyo, where Young is dealing with the concept of life and death, the "jokey-jokes are not as important or present in Young's poems. This could indicate a change in Young's style or an attempt to approach his poetry with a more serious tone. However, Sewell also comments that Young's poems are hard to follow, flying through the air like a bird and eventually reaching a certain point, but taking an adventure to get there. This struggle with some of Young's poems can add to the humor and overall significance of the poems. The opposing forces of the light-hearted humor, and the attempt to resonate with the reader create an enjoyable collection of poems.

This is the way I felt when reading Young's poems. While the poems were fun, they were not simply pictures to look at, they were more like games, trying to figure out the meaning and relate them to my life, therefore resonating with me. Young's poetry immediately grabbed me with his use of humor in discussing serious things. This did not mock his subjects, but rather strengthened my relation to his subjects. The ability to relate to Young's subjects is what created resonance and meaning in Young's poems for me.