Hate Hotel

I first took a glance at this poem thinking that it would be extremely creative, yet not as angry as it actually was. I also was believing that the Hate Hotel was not going to be an actual place and thought it was a bit comical that it was an actual place where he was staying. I found it incredibly creative how there were so many different ways in which Tony Hoagland described his hate. It was also rather interesting how he was able to find hate out of a lamp that was in his room, just think about it, how can one man honestly find something that negative out of a lamp!?

Although there were so many metaphors for hate my personal favorite was when he mentions soaking in the Jacuzzi of his hate. It was an awesome metaphor because I just envision somebody sitting outside on a rainy day when they wish all their problems would get solved yet is doing nothing about it therefore they are just getting worse. Everybody has been in the situation where they have wanted to have their problems solved however are not the one’s willing to solve it and would prefer others to do it. In addition, I felt the part we he mentions “hate bombs falling in silence” directly related to my life. I don’t know about others, but I have been in the situation where I’ve been surprised by things that happen and come out of nowhere that are just drastic and completely unnecessary.

I still am not quite sure how I feel about this poem. At times it tends to be negative and take it to extremes where it just is not needed. Nevertheless, the creativity and imagery that comes about from the metaphors really got me interested in the poem and provided outside meaning that allowed me to interpret it in the way that I wanted. I tend to enjoy poems like that where creativity is in the mind of the reader not the writer forcing it upon you. On the other hand, I am a bit confused by the end, I’m not sure if he’s trying to end it on a positive note or if he’s saying that the hate will never leave. I feel that should be somewhat concrete so the reader can finish the poem with a certain feeling. If that was cleared up a little bit I would definitely recommend this poem to others.

By: Perry Wertheimer