Review of "Fading Light: Echoes of a 90s Childhood" by Trevor Wright
"There were days I wanted to swallow forgetting whole," (from What Remains)
Fading Light: Echoes of a 90s Childhood by Trevor Wright was more relatable to my own childhood than I initially thought it would be! A prime example would be the poem, "The Running Man", which is about that stick figure you imagined parkour-ing all over the place while you were in the backseat of a car. Mostly, for me, the relatability came from classic childhood shows (Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Spider-Man, even Felix the Cat!), as well as the mentions of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps books.
The other familiar elements were more experienced vicariously, through characters on the screen. Things like snow days, catching fireflies, trick-or-treating... The sort of things I wasn't entirely convinced real kids actually experienced, but here's written proof!
I enjoyed the flow of this poetry collection; there's the memories and then a steady bleed out of them into the ache nostalgia and memory can cause. The second half of the book, which focused on said ache, was my favorite.
A few favorite poems:
• Phone Home
There's something so melancholic and nostalgic about this piece; it feels like the book summed up in one poem.
• Inside Joke
Disclaimer: do NOT read this piece if you're not willing to miss, at the very least, one person 😂
• The Well
A heavy piece which points out the importance of sitting with those heavy feelings.
• What Remains
This piece made me feel a little empty. 10/10.
Lines I thought were neat:
• "Not knowing yet
that one day
I'd be trying to remember
every detail of that room
just to feel close to her."
— Her Kitchen
• "I am the one who changed.
And the place that taught me how to be
lives only in weather
I cannot return to."
— Porch Weather
• "I let the silence stretch,
heavy with everything
that never comes back."
— Theme Song
• "People think nostalgia is tender.
...
It's grief without a grave to kneel at,"
— The Breaking Point of Memory
Wright knows just how to end a poem so it leaves a lasting impact; more often than not, a final stanza felt like a punch in the chest.
Throughout the entire collection, Trevor Wright displays a talent for making something small—from watching TV to going to the mall—feel like something monumental.
Fading Light: Echoes of a 90s Childhood is perfect for 90s kids, nostalgia lovers, and the occasional early 2000s kid too!
"as if memory itself kept the room lit." (from Cable)
