Holding a Candle to the Brilliance of Trev Cimenski

So, I’ve struggled with finding a topic to write about this week. I had a ton of ideas, but this one stuck out the most. 
In this post, I’ll be talking about my all-time favorite
young adult American poet, Trev Cimenski.

I First discovered Trev Cimenski about a year or two ago, on Instagram. I heard this soft yet intimidating voice, and the words just spoke to me. At the time I didn’t really follow random people on Instagram, so I passed his account without much thought. But a few days later I came across the same person reading another wonderfully written poem. And I was intrigued. So, I went through his posts, and became obsessed over his work. 
And then when I heard that he had a book released, and another one on the way, I immediately bought the first copy. I read it twice in once night. It was really amazing. 

Trev Cimenski’s book ‘Orangutan Teeth’ was published August 25th, 2022. A relatively recent publication. This book has many amazing poems. I’ve certainly dog eared at least half of them.

There are so many things in this book that I would recommend. I don’t remember the name of it verbatim, but my favorite poem from this book has to be the Years poem. (I think that’s the name) 
It talks about how Years are wasted on calendars, and young people wish they were old and old people wish they were young, and how it’s all just a useless cycle of envy.

I Think that the name of the book is hilariously intriguing, ‘Orangutan Teeth.’ It would only make sense if you got to the poem about Olives Teeth, which (I think) is the first poem in the book.  And another interesting fact about this book is that all the illustrations are by Trev Cimenski himself. Which I very much admire.

 

Somewhat Small is another poetry book written by Trev Cimenski, it was released in this past July. I’m actually lucky enough to own a signed copy of this book. I was so excited when it came in the mail. 
This book is filled to the brim with dozens of poems, and I have to say that my favorite is ‘The World’s Greatest Piano Player’.  It’s really amazing, and it talks about childhood wishes, and realizations as an adult. 
Unfortunately, there aren’t as many illustrations in this book as the previous one. I’m not sure as to the reason, but I do miss the little squiggly fellas. 
I debated for such a long time on
whether or not I wanted to highlight
or dog ear pages, because on one hand some things in the book were really inspiring, but on the other hand I didn’t want to harm this book in any way.  I eventually decided on leaving it as it is, and maybe dog earing a page or two.

So, I’ve Talked about the books he’s released, but what makes them so brilliant?
And the answer to that, is how insanely deep these somewhat simple poems are. Trev Cimenski, writes poetry about the smallest of things, 
Teeth, Houses, Pianos, Nephews and Nieces. And makes them into this philosophical concept, that really makes you reflect. And something even more impressive is when he talks about serious things. Like death, age, years, love.



What I’m trying to say is that, in my opinion, I think that his work is brilliant. And I love re-reading his work over and over again. For the past year or so he’s been a huge inspiration for me. 
I think that’s why I’ll always love small town poets more than world renowned poets. I know it’s silly, but it seems more personal when its someone who isn’t as widely known.

And if anyone ever wants to borrow one of his books from me, feel free to ask. 
I would love to share his work with other people.

* I apologize for how rushed and short this post is, other than the two books. And his media accounts, I could hardly find any information about him. 
So, I just wrote what I knew about Him. *