Hell in a Basket

Hell in a Basket is a poetry collection by American poet Matthew Little.

Cover of the first edition.

Background

In a span of about 26 pages, Little wrote a small tome of confessional imagery spanning his life. Written between the months of January and July of 2013, Hell in a Basket details the author's anxieties, accounts of depression as well as loves, and some nature poems. Its tagline is A small collection of personal poetry.

Although he feared that people would find the collection "sophomoric" and even "mediocre,"<trf? Tumblr, the reactions from people who've read it have been positive.

About

Certain events that Little has faced in his life have triggered most of the material he wrote in the collection. The poem "A Father to my Mother" was written about his childhood upbringing, the environment he was in, and what he dealt with having an alcoholic mother. Other poems, like "Beaches" and "True Hate" show his anger towards things others wouldn't find terrible. Most of what was written in the collection was written during dark times in the author's life.

Shortly before its publishing, the author said this about the collection:

"Literally almost every entry in Hell in a Basket was written while I was feeling very negative about my life and how it was going. I know that's sort of cliche to say; most poets write from depressive points of view, but that really is the case with me. The book itself isn't constructed in the order of when I wrote; I constructed it to be in a progressive order that sort of builds up, like first I talk about my home, then I get into it about my anxiety, then I get into how the people around me are all addicts or drunks, and then the poem "A Father to my Mother" hits and it sort of explains really why I was being negative and why I'm still very negative. Then from there I get into my long distance love, and throw in some nature poems about rain and thunder, and a not-so-positive view of the beach. It all ties in."

He also discussed why he thought reviewers wouldn't care for the collection:

"Well, I just figured that because it's my first published anything, reviewers of poetry would see it as amateur, which in reality it is, because I have no actual formal training in writing, and the way I've written the poems, I lack metaphors and I lack structure, but really that's my way of writing so, I don't know, I guess you can say it's just me being paranoid and having the first time publishing jitters."

Reception

As of October 13, 2013, about 16 people have actually purchased the collection, but followers of his who've received it have expressed their gratitude in the writings. One person messaged Little on Tumblr, and told him, "[...] I don't read enough poetry to be equipped to critique yours, [...] What I've read though, I've actually liked and in no way cringed on your behalf." Another follower expressed positively about the anxiety poems, "I have been reading and re-reading “Hell in a Basket’ and LOVE each poem, but I am a huge fan of ‘My’ because I saw my own disorders in it. And it just felt comforting to me that I wasn’t alone and that someone has been through/going through the same thing."

A review left on the Amazon site complimented the collection, "This collection of poetry is a peak inside one man's battered mind and soul. Little ties these bits of grey matter together with the finesse of an accomplished poet beyond his years." Another positive review left weeks after said about it, "I found the poems in this collection to be very engrossing in their form, and their style really adds to the content. The author clearly has a talent for isolating and translating the mind's erratic dances onto paper for others to understand. This isn't one of those collections where all the content is "okay" but only one or two poems stick with you. You can truly relate to these works. This is a collection that, page by page, will grip you if you allow it, and won't let you go until the end, leaving you with a multitude of feelings and burning questions about life."

George J. Dance, top contributor for the Penny's poetry pages Wiki responded positively about the collection. He wrote about it: "The quality of the pieces was good; there wasn't one poem I thought Little shouldn't have published. That, and the small size, makes me think the author rigorously selected from a much larger body of work, and he deserves kudos for that. [...] I'm not a fan of confessional poetry to begin with, so this didn't move me a lot. Still, I identified with much of it: the idea in "True Hate" of burning the family home reminded me of a poem of mine, "My Father's House," where I expressed the same idea. [...] Intriguing words or phrases would jump out at me. like the alliteration in "Weaved in from my sins / Like wicker / With little Wiccan ties". While I didn't at first like the rhyming in "Gum Wrapper", I grew to appreciate it as automatic association (as if the speaker, finding his partner is cheating, is losing it).

A reviewer named "Jonathan" on Amazon wrote in May 2014 wrote, "This collection of poetry will truly help you understand the author. The imagery conjured by these words will shock some and align with others. I personally aligned with several of these poems and it was humbling to know that my thoughts are not singular but mutually shared with others. All in all, a great batch of material, waiting to be analyzed and digested by the avid mind."

On Goodreads, a website dedicated to reviewing books and discuss literature, Vin Socci, a friend of Little's, gave the collection five stars, writing, "The author recounts stories with such raw, deep emotion and conveys them in a sophisticated format far beyond his years. I was quickly whisked back to the many memories I have of my own childhood and found it quite interesting in how I was so easily able to relate to my own anxieties, fears and disappointments. A very thought provoking piece that is consumed with ease and leaving you wanting more!"

Poems

The poems that appear in the collection are:

1. Home
2. True Hate
3. Nails and Anxiety
4. My
5. Myself
6. Anti Anxiety Medication Thoughts
7. Hell in a Basket
8. Message to a Non-Sufferer
9. Untitled Poem about Family
10. A Father to my Mother
11. Gum Wrapper
12. In Bed with Bird Chirps
13. A Foggy Rainy Day
14. O Thunder
15. Cigarette Bomb
16. The Medal of Atlantis
17. Never Want To Leave
18. Briefs
19. He Cleans His Light
20. She's Drunk
21. Beaches
22. Closets

See also

• Home (poem)
• A Father to my Mother (poem)
• Ribbons (poetry collection)

External links

• Hell in a Basket at Amazon.