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Poetry

Ultimate Galentine Gift Guide

January 30, 2021      milelongtbr      5 Comments

Galentine Gift Guide

February is the month for celebrating love, so don’t forget to celebrate the girlfriends in your life on February 13th.

Fans of Parks & Rec will know this is not a holiday to skip. Even if the traditional brunch may have to wait until better times, it’s still good to celebrate your female friends and send a little treat their way.

https://galentinesdayfun-blog.tumblr.com/post/138576319581/everybody-knows-it

This Galentine Gift Guide will help you find the perfect bookish gift for everyone in your crew no matter what their interests or relationship status is.

Take a look at this gift guide to find the perfect bookish Galentine present for your girls – and maybe even for yourself! Here we go!


1. For the newly single friend

F*ck You Haiku by Kristina Grish

This is an emotionally-charged collection of haikus that capture the unraveling of a relationship. I love the simplicity and how well the short poems portray the aftermath of breakups.

If you have a bestie who’s going through a breakup this would make the perfect Galentine’s gift.

Many thanks to Tiller Press and NetGalley for the advance copy.


2. For the friend who is putting herself first

Self-Love by Devi B. Dillard-Wright

This is a lovely little book to help readers improve their relationships with themselves. It would be great as a daily devotional or to pick up when in need of a boost. There is inspiration from a number of different places, making this a great book for anyone to pick up. Many thanks to Adams Media and NetGalley for the advance copy.


3. For the friend who uses dating apps

Candy Hearts by Tommy Siegel

This book is filled with hilariously honest cartoons of conversation hearts for our modern age. They perfectly convey the awkward things we think but would rather leave unsaid with our partners- whether it’s in dating or more serious relationships.

Your Galentine on the dating scene will definitely get a laugh out of Candy Hearts. Many thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the advance copy.


4. For the artistic friend

What Would Frida Do? by Arianna Davis

Frida Kahlo lived a life that was all at once fascinating, heartbreaking, and inspiring.

Part biography and part memoir, this book uses the artist’s story to give advice on living bolding and embracing yourself, just as she did. I loved the information and research, though found many parts of the book repetitive. For those skimming through I can see it not being noticed, but in listening through I would have preferred new information or for it to only be stated once. The audiobook is narrated by Marisa Blake, who does a great job telling the story of Frida’s life and is clear and engaging to listen to.

Your creative bestie will be inspired by Khalo’s story and the call to live boldly.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advance copy of the audiobook.


5. For the friend who is too hard on herself

I Am Definitely, Probably Enough (I Think): Revelations on the Journey to Self-Love by Tori Press

This is a sweet and inspiring book with great pictures perfect for those who already love the author’s @revelatori Instagram account and those just discovering it. I especially love the positive light on mental health, therapy and personal growth .

This book will help you feel heard, accepted, and validated- and that you are enough- perfect for a friend who is struggling with self-doubt or being too tough on herself.

Many thanks to Adams Media and NetGalley for the advance copy .


6. For the friend whose cat is her Valentine

Behind Every Great Woman Is a Great Cat by Lula Mayo

I mean, excuse me… isn’t this cover just the cutest!?

This book celebrates fabulous females and their feline friends with beautiful art, quotes and more.

Included are over 30 women including the Bronte sisters, Betty White, Taylor Swift and  Jacinda Ardern.

Your cat loving Galentine will love this gift, I promise!


7. For the friend who is healing

shine your icy crown by Amanda Lovelace

Another amazing collection from Amanda Lovelace! I’m a long-time fan of her poetry and this latest installment in the You Are Your Own Fairytale series did not disappoint!

The sisterly advice in the poems is beautiful and raw, and it’s the advice we should be giving to ourselves. The poems are in Lovelace’s signature style and the book is filled with beautiful pictures.

I especially love the inclusion of trigger warnings and reminders for self-care to go along with some of the heavier themes in the book. It is definitely one of the top poetry collections of the year – perfect for those new to the author and longtime fans.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the advance copy.


8. For the friend who is happily in love

In Love & Pajamas by Catana Chetwynd

This book is filled with cute comics that show relatable glimpses into everyday domestic bliss. Your paired up friends will love it for being honest, adorable, and not too sappy.

Many thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.


9. For the friend who likes to journal

Made Out of Stars by Meera Lee Patel

Any of Meera Lee Patel’s book are perfect for those interested in self-discovery


10. For the friend who is so over dating

Men to Avoid in Art and Life by Nicole Tersigni

Men to Avoid in Art and Life by Nicole Tersigni is a great blend of classic art, humor, and social commentary. The captions in this book are spot on and the body language on these ladies show how woman have been sick of men’s bull for centuries and that there were Chads even back in the Renaissance.

I love the juxtaposition of the art and captions as the men weigh in on things such as PMS, how a woman should dress, and why their jokes are funny and not effective. I This fantastic book separates the men into five different categories including “the mansplainer” and “the comedian.”

Many thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.


There you have it, friends! This Gift Guide is sure to have presents for all the Galentines in your squad.

Whether your besties are single, hopeful, bitter, or booed up – there’s a book on this gift guide that would bring a smile to anyone’s face on Galantines day.

Let me know if one of these books seems like a perfect gift for one of your friends – or if there’s one you’d love to get for a Galentine’s gift.

Be sure to check out my bookshop.org shop that has all the titles and 8 other gift ideas including more books, puzzles, and journals.

Book Review: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

June 28, 2020      milelongtbr      Leave a Comment

Siddhartha Book Review

Last month I read Siddhartha as part of my goal to read a work of classic literature every month in 2020. While I knew there were elements of this work that interested me, it surprised me just how much this work spoke to me. It’s filled with so many layers, quotes to remember and discuss, and

That’s why Siddhartha is a perfect book for my Self Care Sunday series, where I talk about books that speak to the soul, make you grow as a person and different ways to practice being good to yourself.

This is also a book that I have been talking about over on The Same Page Book Club where I feature books that embody these themes as well.

Keep reading this review of Siddhartha to see why it’s a good book for those looking to read more classic literature as well as those looking to go deeper within themselves.

Synopsis:

Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha is a classic work where the titular character leaves his life of comfort behind in search for deeper meaning in life. For those familiar with the origin of Buddhism the story may sound familiar.

Though the Siddhartha in this story shares a name with Siddhartha Guatama; this is a different character from the historical Buddha. Though living in the same time and place, the two men are seeking a similar goal, but And yet, his story parallels the Buddha’s in many ways as he forsakes his life of comfort in search of greater meaning.

Even when he encounters The Buddha in his travels, Siddhartha knows that for him, the truest path to enlightenment is not in following but in finding his own way.

Siddhartha quote

Siddhartha learns from everyone and everything around him. Because he is open to learning and experiencing rather than blindly seeking the goal, even the most unlikely of sources provide profound insight. A ferryman, nature, and a courtesan provide just as much opportunity to learn as his encounter with the Buddha. And yet, he struggles to apply this wisdom.

Those of us who have to figure things out for ourselves can certainly relate, and realize that much of the struggles and suffering arise from our own resistance to what is.

This definitely reflects teachings we know of Buddhism, though the story is not overtly religious. It focuses more on themes of attaining enlightenment, and whether that comes from internal or external forces.

Analysis:

I appreciate what Hesse did with the story and how Siddhartha’s path to enlightenment was similar to that of the Buddha’s, yet was not realized through following the Buddha.

To me the book is not religious, but rather focuses on the human condition, philosophy, and even psychology. Whether or not you practice Buddhism or have an interest in eastern philosophy I feel there is something to be gained from reading Siddhartha.

The history behind this book fascinated me almost as much as the story within the pages. I loved reading the backstory about how Hesse, son of Christian missionaries, came to write this ode to eastern spirituality, as well as his personal struggles and how he sought help from Carl Jung, a pioneer of psychoanalysis. 

These personal challenges were hurdles to the completion of Siddhartha. Later portions of the work were perceptibly rushed and lacked the lyricism and slow pacing that it began with, and I could feel Hesse’s difficulty writing a resolution he’d yet to experience in his own life. 

Hesse’s writing is the only thing keeping this from being a five-star read for me. I did not especially care for his style, though that could down to personal preference and the type of work this is. It’s worth noting that the book was originally written in German, and I was reading an English translation from Joachim Neugroschel.

Also, Siddhartha is technically a lyrical poem of sorts rather than a novel; stylistically it is unique and may be a stark change of pace for certain readers. 

Takeaway:

Still, Siddhartha is an enjoyable and worthwhile book, both for the story and opportunities for introspection that arise. I highly recommend it for those interested in examining their thoughts and actions more deeply, and those interested in Buddhism or the origins of ancient wisdom.  

I gave it a four-star rating, though a different translation could easily bump it up to five.

New Poetry and Memoirs by BIPOC

June 7, 2020      milelongtbr      Leave a Comment

Upcoming poetry, biographies, and memoirs from BIPOC authors.

I’ve seen many wonderful reading lists pop up around the internet with memoirs and other nonfiction by Black writers, but I wanted to extend this to highlight upcoming releases of fiction by BIPOC authors.

With so many of us committing to to diversifying our reading in light of current events, it’s important to remember to keep reading from BIOPC authors even when it’s not “trendy.”

Keeping up with upcoming book releases can be a great way to do that Whether you’re looking for books to keep your teens busy this summer or want to get lost in a good read yourself, this is the perfect list.

Since poetry, biographies, and memoirs are all such personal stories that they’re a great way to better understand what life is like for these BIPOC authors.

This list features 12 books from BIPOC authors in memoirs, biographies, and poetry. They’re all are set to be published in the next few months and are currently available to read now or request on NetGalley.

If you have already bought and read other recommended titles by BIPOC authors, are on a tight budget, or simply want to help amplify BIPOC writers by supporting their emerging titles, this can be a fantastic way to get more relevant titles to read.

I have listed the publisher and scheduled U.S. publication date with each title, but please bear in mind that these may vary based on your country and that COVID-19 has impacted a number of publication dates, so these are subject to change.

Unlike most of my recommendations, the books on this list are not all ones which I have read personally, but am suggesting for those trying to find new and diverse fiction by BIPOC.

They all sound like great choices, and if you aren’t approved through NetGalley I’d consider preordering a physical copy from a Black-owned bookstore.

BIPOC Biographies & Memoirs: 

Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu 

BIPOC MEMOIR BY NADIA OWUSU

This book is scheduled to be published on 12 January 2021 by Simon & Schuester. 

NetGalley Description:

This poetic, genre-bending work—blending memoir with cultural history—from Whiting Award winner Nadia Owusu grapples with the fault lines of identity, the meaning of home, black womanhood, and the ripple effects, both personal and generational, of emotional trauma.

Nadia Owusu grew up all over the world—from Rome and London to Dar-es-Salaam and Kampala. When her mother abandoned her when she was two years old, the rejection caused Nadia to be confused about her identity. Even after her father died when she was thirteen and she was raised by her stepmother, she was unable to come to terms with who she was since she still felt motherless and alone.

When Nadia went to university in America when she was eighteen she still felt as if she had so many competing personas that she couldn’t keep track of them all without cracking under the pressure of trying to hold herself together. A powerful coming-of-age story that explores timely and universal themes of identity, Aftershocks follows Nadia’s life as she hauls herself out of the wreckage and begins to understand that the only ground firm enough to count on is the one she writes into existence.


My Time to Speak : Reclaiming Ancestry and Confronting Race by Ilia Calederon

BIPOC memoir by ILIA CALDERON

This book is scheduled to be published on 05 August 2020 by Atria Books. 

NetGalley Description: 

An inspiring, timely, and conversation-starting memoir from the barrier-breaking and Emmy Award–winning journalist Ilia Calderón—the first Afro-Latina to anchor a high-profile newscast for a major Hispanic broadcast network in the United States—about following your dreams, overcoming prejudice, and embracing your identity.

As a child, Ilia Calderón felt like a typical girl from Colombia. In Chocó, the Afro-Latino province where she grew up, your skin could be any shade and you’d still be considered blood. Race was a non-issue, and Ilia didn’t think much about it—until she left her community to attend high school and college in Medellín. For the first time, she became familiar with horrifying racial slurs thrown at her both inside and outside of the classroom.

From that point on, she resolved to become “deaf” to racism, determined to overcome it in every way she could, even when she was told time and time again that prominent castings weren’t “for people like you.” When a twist of fate presented her the opportunity of a lifetime at Telemundo in Miami, she was excited to start a new life, and identity, in the United States, where racial boundaries, she believed, had long since dissolved and equality was the rule.

Instead, in her new life as an American, she faced a new type of racial discrimination, as an immigrant women of color speaking to the increasingly marginalized Latinx community in Spanish.

Now, Ilia draws back the curtain on the ups and downs of her remarkable life and career. From personal inner struggles to professional issues—such as being directly threatened by a Ku Klux Klan member after an interview—she discusses how she built a new identity in the United States in the midst of racially charged violence and political polarization. Along the way, she’ll show how she’s overcome fear and confronted hate head on, and the inspirational philosophy that has always propelled her forward.


The Butterfly Effect : How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America by Marcus J. Moore

This book is scheduled to be published on 13 October 2020 by Atril Books. 

NetGalley Description:

This first cultural biography of rap superstar and “master of storytelling” (The New Yorker) Kendrick Lamar explores his meteoric rise to fame and his profound impact on a racially fraught America—perfect for fans of Zack O’Malley Greenburg’s Empire State of Mind.

Kendrick Lamar is at the top of his game.

The thirteen-time Grammy Award­–winning rapper is just in his early thirties, but he’s already won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, produced and curated the soundtrack of the megahit film Black Panther, and has been named one of Time’s 100 Influential People. But what’s even more striking about the Compton-born lyricist and performer is how he’s established himself as a formidable adversary of oppression and force for change. Through his confessional poetics, his politically charged anthems, and his radical performances, Lamar has become a beacon of light for countless people.

Written by veteran journalist and music critic Marcus J. Moore, this is the first biography of Kendrick Lamar. It’s the definitive account of his coming-of-age as an artist, his resurrection of two languishing genres (bebop and jazz), his profound impact on a racially fraught America, and his emergence as the bona fide King of Rap.

The Butterfly Effect is the extraordinary, triumphant story of a modern lyrical prophet and an American icon who has given hope to those buckling under the weight of systemic oppression, reminding everyone that through it all—“we gon’ be alright.”


The Dead Are Arising : The Life of Malcom X by Les Payne and Tamara Payne

This book is scheduled to be published on 29 Sep 2020 by W.W. Norton & Company.

NetGalley Description:

An epic biography of Malcolm X finally emerges, drawing on hundreds of hours of the author’s interviews, rewriting much of the known narrative.

Beginning in 1990 on a quest that would consume him for the rest of his life, the Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist Les Payne started interviewing all living siblings of the Malcolm Little family, Nation of Islam figures, FBI moles and cops, and political leaders around the world. His goal was ambitious: to create a portrait of Malcolm X that would separate fact from fiction. Interweaving unknown details of Malcolm X’s life—from harrowing vignettes culled from his Depression-era Nebraska and Michigan youth; to his Massachusetts prison years and religious conversion; to his recruitment for Elijah Muhammad; and, finally, to a moment-by-moment retelling of the 1965 assassination—Payne has written a groundbreaking biography that brings to vivid life the story of one of the most politically relevant figures in twentieth-century American history.

Framed by essays from Tamara Payne, Payne’s daughter and primary researcher, who heroically completed the biography after her father’s death, The Dead Are Arising affirms the centrality of Malcolm X to the African American freedom struggle.

About the Author: Les Payne (1941-2018), born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and a former editor at Newsday. A founder of the National Association of Black Journalists, Payne also wrote an award-winning syndicated column.

Tamara Payne served as Les Payne’s principal researcher. She lives in New York.


A Knock at Midnight : A Story of Hope, Justice and Freedom by Brittany K Barnett

BIPOC Memoir by Brittany K. Barnett

This book is scheduled to be published on 08 September 2020 by Crown Publishing.

NetGalley Description:

An urgent call to free those buried alive by America’s legal system, and an inspiring true story about unwavering belief in humanity—from a gifted young lawyer and important new voice in the movement to transform the system.

“An essential book for our time . . . Brittany K. Barnett is a star.”—Van Jones, author of Beyond the Messy Truth and host of The Van Jones Show

This book from Crown Publishing is scheduled to be released on 08 September 2020. 

Brittany K. Barnett was only a law student when she came across the case that would change her life forever—that of Sharanda Jones, single mother, business owner, and, like Brittany, Black daughter of the rural South. A victim of America’s devastating war on drugs, Sharanda had been torn away from her young daughter and was serving a life sentence without parole—for a first-time drug offense. In Sharanda, Brittany saw haunting echoes of her own life, both as the daughter of a formerly incarcerated mother and as the once-girlfriend of an abusive drug dealer. As she studied this case, a system came into focus: one where widespread racial injustice forms the core of America’s addiction to incarceration. Moved by Sharanda’s plight, Brittany set to work to gain her freedom.

This had never been the plan. Bright and ambitious, Brittany was a successful accountant on her way to a high-powered future in corporate law. But Sharanda’s case opened the door to a harrowing journey through the criminal justice system. By day she moved billion-dollar deals, and by night she worked pro bono to free clients in near-hopeless legal battles. Ultimately, her path transformed her understanding of injustice in the courts, of genius languishing behind bars, and the very definition of freedom itself.

Brittany’s riveting memoir is at once a coming-of-age story and a powerful evocation of what it takes to bring hope and justice to a system built to resist them both.


Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey 

BIPOC Memoir by BIPOC

This book is scheduled to be published on 28 July 2020 by HarperCollins Ecco. 

NetGalley Description:

A chillingly personal and exquisitely wrought memoir of a daughter reckoning with the brutal murder of her mother at the hands of her former stepfather, and the moving, intimate story of a poet coming into her own in the wake of a tragedy

At age nineteen, Natasha Trethewey had her world turned upside down when her former stepfather shot and killed her mother. Grieving and still new to adulthood, she confronted the twin pulls of life and death in the aftermath of unimaginable trauma and now explores the way this experience lastingly shaped the artist she became.

With penetrating insight and a searing voice that moves from the wrenching to the elegiac, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Natasha Trethewey explores this profound experience of pain, loss, and grief as an entry point into understanding the tragic course of her mother’s life and the way her own life has been shaped by a legacy of fierce love and resilience. Moving through her mother’s history in the deeply segregated South and through her own girlhood as a “child of miscegenation” in Mississippi, Trethewey plumbs her sense of dislocation and displacement in the lead-up to the harrowing crime that took place on Memorial Drive in Atlanta in 1985.

Memorial Drive is a compelling and searching look at a shared human experience of sudden loss and absence but also a piercing glimpse at the enduring ripple effects of white racism and domestic abuse. Animated by unforgettable prose and inflected by a poet’s attention to language, this is a luminous, urgent, and visceral memoir from one of our most important contemporary writers and thinkers.


BIPOC Poetry

Finna by Nate Marshall 

This book is scheduled to be published on 11 August 2020 by One World Publishing. 

NetGalley Description:

Sharp, lyrical poems celebrating the Black vernacular—its influence on pop culture, its necessity for familial survival, its rite in storytelling and in creating the safety found only within its intimacy

Definition of finna, created by the author: fin·na /ˈfinə/ contraction: (1) going to; intending to [rooted in African American Vernacular English] (2) eye dialect spelling of “fixing to” (3) Black possibility; Black futurity; Blackness as tomorrow

These poems consider the brevity and disposability of Black lives and other oppressed people in our current era of emboldened white supremacy, and the use of the Black vernacular in America’s vast reserve of racial and gendered epithets. Finna explores the erasure of peoples in the American narrative; asks how gendered language can provoke violence; and finally, how the Black vernacular, expands our notions of possibility, giving us a new language of hope:

nothing about our people is romantic

& it shouldn’t be. our people deserve

poetry without meter. we deserve our

own jagged rhythm & our own uneven

walk towards sun. you make happening happen.

we happen to love. this is our greatest

Action.

The Half-God of Rainfall by Inua Ellams

This book is scheduled to be published on 29 September 2020 by Fourth Estate Publishers. 

NetGalley Description:

From the award-winning poet and playwright behind Barber Shop Chronicles, The Half-God of Rainfall is an epic story and a lyrical exploration of pride, power and female revenge.

There is something about Demi. When this boy is angry, rain clouds gather. When he cries, rivers burst their banks and the first time he takes a shot on a basketball court, the deities of the land take note.

His mother, Modupe, looks on with a mixture of pride and worry. From close encounters, she knows Gods often act like men: the same fragile egos, the same unpredictable fury and the same sense of entitlement to the bodies of mortals.

She will sacrifice everything to protect her son, but she knows the Gods will one day tire of sports fans, their fickle allegiances and misdirected prayers. When that moment comes, it won’t matter how special he is. Only the women in Demi’s life, the mothers, daughters and Goddesses, will stand between him and a lightning bolt.

Somebody Give This Heart a Pen by Sophia Thakur

This book is set to be published on 08 September 2020 by Candlewick Press. 

NetGalley Description: 

In a powerful debut, rising star Sophia Thakur brings her spoken word performance to the page.

Be with yourself for a moment.

Be yourself for a moment.

Airplane mode everything but yourself for a moment.

From acclaimed performance poet Sophia Thakur comes a stirring collection of coming-of-age poems exploring issues of identity, difference, perseverance, relationships, fear, loss, and joy. From youth to school to family life to falling in love and falling back out again—the poems draw on the author’s experience as a young mixed-race woman trying to make sense of a lonely and complicated world. With a strong narrative voice and emotional empathy, this is poetry that will resonate with all young people, whatever their background and whatever their dreams.

Owed by Joshua Bennet

This book is scheduled to be published by Penguin Books on 01 September 2020. 

NetGalley Description:

From “one of the most impressive voices in poetry today” (Dissent magazine), a new collection that shines a light on forgotten or obscured parts of the past in order to reconstruct a deeper, truer vision of the present

Gregory Pardlo described Joshua Bennett’s first collection of poetry, The Sobbing School, as an “arresting debut” that was “abounding in tenderness and rich with character,” with a “virtuosic kind of code switching.” Bennett’s new collection, Owed, is a book with celebration at its center. Its primary concern is how we might mend the relationship between ourselves and the people, spaces, and objects we have been taught to think of as insignificant, as fundamentally unworthy of study, reflection, attention, or care. Spanning the spectrum of genre and form–from elegy and ode to origin myth–these poems elaborate an aesthetics of repair. What’s more, they ask that we turn to the songs and sites of the historically denigrated so that we might uncover a new way of being in the world together, one wherein we can truthfully reckon with the brutality of the past and thus imagine the possibilities of our shared, unpredictable present, anew.


Guillotine by Eduardo C. Corral

This book is scheduled to be published on  04 Aug 2020 by Graywolf Press

NetGalley Description:

The astonishing second collection by the author of Slow Lightning, winner of the Yale Younger Poets Prize

Through the voices of undocumented immigrants, border patrol agents, and scorned lovers, award-winning poet Eduardo C. Corral writes dramatic portraits of contradiction, survival, and a deeply human, relentless interiority in Guillotine. With extraordinary lyric imagination, these poems traverse desert landscapes cut through by migrants, the grief of loss, betrayal’s lingering scars, the border itself—great distances in which violence and yearning find roots. A harrowing second collection, Guillotine solidifies Corral’s place in the expanding ecosystem of American poetry.


Anodyne by Khadijah Queen

This book is scheduled to be published by Tin House on 18 Aug 2020.

NetGalley Description:

“I recommend this book to anyone who ever had a child or a parent, who ever had a body or loved, to anyone who was ever sick or tried to sleep a good night’s sleep, and failed, and tried again. . . . This is a powerful and dazzling collection, filled with wisdom and experience. Anyone who reads Anodyne will remember it for a long time.” – Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic

“Khadijah Queen’s poems are fire and sacred song. From heart-stopping familial narratives—a son awash in sadness, an aging mother’s boulder-smiting love, a brother turned to dust by a bullet—to formal inventiveness and experimentation, this is writing that makes the hardship of being alive transcendent. These poems swirl the pain of our lives with a neon kind of sweetness. Queen’s writing endures the revolt of the body with verbal play and a powerful, radical vulnerability. Anodyne is urgent and fragile, manifesting the beautiful danger in being alive.” – Alex Lemon, author of Another Last Day and Feverland: A Memoir in Shards

“Anodyne captivates with poignant, resilient poems; ones that face toughness with lucidity: of losing family and facing landscapes full of “untended loveliness of the forsaken.” All of which builds an affective and luminous sense of record, of observing and perceiving. The poems speak to ‘How we fail is how we continue’ and construct insight with breathtaking momentum through frank, sonorous, and delicate diction; furthermore, the poems carry forth an analysis from the person to the systemic, recognizing and remembering ‘when pain was not to be seen or looked at,/but institutionalized. Invisible, unspoken,/transformed but not really transformed.’ The poems are full of a vital and recuperative prosody: erasures, odes, synesthetic centers; Queen’s commanding style: building the poetic edges that are laced with endeavors, hurdles, grace, and truth into an eye-wide and powerfully-deep poetry collection.” – Prageeta Sharma, author of Grief Sequence

“Khadijah Queen’s newest collection, Anodyne is a study of form & cavedwell, feminism as foresight, and archives the articulation of black excellence & resilience. This is the complexity fans of Queen’s work have grown because of. How she shapes each poem to the sound of a hand, photograph, fractured reflection and a throat. Anodyne as a noun is a painkilling medicine. These poems are a painkilling medicine. They provoke, incite and steer steady as scripture. Each meter is breath, each beat encourages reassessment by the reader unto themselves. Who we be beneath the dust & dust & fallen arches of our name? Many (re)discoveries are assured with the preciseness of Queen’s poetic legend. ” – Mahogany L. Browne, author of Woke Baby, Black Girl Magic, and co-editor of Black Girl Magic Anthology


Make Me Rain by Nikki Giovanni

This book is scheduled to be published HaperCollins Publishers , William Morrow on 20 Oct 2020.

NetGalley Description:

One of America’s most celebrated poets challenges us with this powerful and deeply personal collection of verse that speaks to the injustices of society while illuminating the depths of her own heart.For more than thirty years, Nikki Giovanni’s poetry has inspired, enlightened, and dazzled readers. As sharp and outspoken as ever, this artist long hailed as a healer and a sage returns with this profound book of poetry in which she continues to call attention to injustice and give readers an unfiltered look into the most private parts of herself.

In Make Me Rain, she celebrates her loved ones and unapologetically declares her pride in her black heritage, while exploring the enduring impact of the twin sins of racism and white nationalism. Giovanni reaffirms her place as a uniquely vibrant and relevant American voice with poems such as “I Come from Athletes” and “Rainy Days”—calling out segregation and Donald Trump; as well as “Unloved (for Aunt Cleota)” and “”When I Could No Longer”—her personal elegy for the relatives who saved her from an abusive home life. 

Stirring, provocative, and resonant, the poems in Make Me Rain pierce the heart and nourish the soul. 


The books on this list are a great starting point for upcoming poetry collections, biographies, and memoirs by BIPOC authors.

Please keep publication dates in mind as reading and posting timely and constructive reviews to retail sites is a great way to amplify BIPOC voices.

And, of course, also consider requesting your local library buy these books, purchasing a copy for family or friends (preferably from a Black-owned bookstore), posting honest favorable reviews to retailer sites, and searching for backlist titles by one of these authors.

Start reading these works by BIPOC authors and stay tuned for more upcoming own voice titles in nonfiction.

Six Modern Poetry Titles to Read For National Poetry Month

April 19, 2020      milelongtbr      Leave a Comment

Poetry.

The word can evoke memories of Shakespearean sonnets, cliched lines, and English lectures you’d rather not revisit. 

Modern poetry, however, is worlds away from the corny notes scrawled by your teenage sweetheart, and much less intimidating than the abstract stanzas you were asked to analyze in literature classes.

Since April is National Poetry month, it’s the perfect time to delve into the verses of modern poetry .

Whether you’re picking it up for the first time, or have already experienced the joys of contemporary poetry, here are recommendations for a new title you’re sure to enjoy.

 For Those New to Modern Poetry:

There are two quintessential poets who come to mind when it comes to contemporary poetry. For those familiar with the genre, the names Rupi Kaur and Amanda Lovelace likely stand out among the rest.

I’ve listed the debut collection from each author here, but if you’ve read those the follow-up titles are just as captivating.

1. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur 

This book, published in 2014 helped spur a resurgence in poetry reading with its uniquely simple verses and lovely line drawings. The poetry is raw, cutting, and deeply sensual, and you’ll feel seen and understood reading her words.

While milk and honey is a wonderful starting place, I also highly recommend the sun and her flowers which is my personal favorite from the two.

Whichever book you select from Kaur, you’re sure to enjoy the soulful, contemplative poems and fresh approach to poetry.

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😂😭♥️

A post shared by rupi kaur (@rupikaur_) on Mar 29, 2020 at 6:16pm PDT

This verse, from Kaur’s followup, the sun and her flowers is especially comforting in these times of self-isolation.

2. women are some kind of magic series by Amanda Lovelace

Amanda Lovelace is a powerful wordsmith, crafting beautiful poems about often difficult topics. Her books probably contain most of the trigger warnings, so go in with that in mind and expect to be amazed by the force of her words.

This book is the first in her “women are some kind of magic” trilogy which are all unique and interesting explorations of love, loss, grief, and healing. I own and all three titles in the series, which all use different elements of classic fairy tales and myth to help tell the tales of women overcoming and finding strength within themselves.

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❤️❤️❤️ —————————————————————————— from my bestselling & award-winning poetry collection, the witch doesn’t burn in this one. available now.

A post shared by amanda lovelace (@ladybookmad) on Mar 19, 2019 at 8:05am PDT

From the third book in the series, the witch doesn’t burn in this one, comes a reminder that we don’t need to look outside of ourselves for saving.

For Those Looking to Read Further:

If you’re familiar with the above titles and looking for great new poetry titles to add to your library here are some great ones to try.


3. break your glass slippers by Amanda Lovelace

Lovelace’s latest work is the first in an entirely new collection, titled “You Are Your Own Fairy Tale.”

break your glass slippers is filled with gorgeous illustrations and lovely, poignant poems in the forms of self-realizations, notes from the fairy godmother, as well as other voices that come together in this collection to tell a story of another princess who ultimately has all she needs within her the entire time. 

Modern, feminist, and empowering, the follow up to the ‘women are some kind magic’ series poetry and break your glass slippers, her latest really spoke to me, and fans of her earlier work are sure to love it as well.

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today marks just ONE MONTH until the release of my next poetry collection, break your glass slippers, which is beautifully illustrated by @janainaart!!! preorder links in bio~ 🧚🏻‍♀️💙✨ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #witchesofinstagram #witchesofinstagram🔮🌙 #witchyvibes #empoweryourself #empoweringquotes #fairygodmother #beyourownfairygodmother #poetryisnotdead #poemsofinstagram #quoteoftheday

A post shared by amanda lovelace (@ladybookmad) on Feb 17, 2020 at 9:48am PST

Real talk and gorgeous drawings from break your glass slippers.

4. Love Poems for Anxious People by John Kenney

Love Poems for Anxious People by John Kenney is a great little collection that explores topics the anxious and socially awkward among us are sure to relate to. It muses on everything from forgetting someone’s name, fighting “monkey mind” during meditation practice, and self-diagnosing on WebMD, as well as complications of working and parenting in the modern age. 

While a bit more on the prosaic side than the poetry I typically gravitate to, and not really dealing with themes of love at all, I still found this to be a delightful read. 

On second thought, these may not be lyrical verses on romantic love, but Kenney’s words show that he intimately understands the struggles of an anxious person; the things that keep you up at night and the intricacies of who you are at your core. I can’t remember when I last felt so understood. And perhaps that makes these the best love poems of all, at least for one anxious person.

This book is published April 21, 2020.


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Coming soon. Ish.

A post shared by John Kenney (@johnkenneywriter) on Jan 20, 2020 at 6:26am PST

On how he’s qualified to write poems about anxiety, Kenney says “I have almost no personal experience with anxiety. Unless you include puberty, college, my 20s, most any sexual encounter I have ever had, and day-to-day life in the world today.”

5. There is Always Universe by Tiffany Aurora (TBR)

I fell in love with Tiffany Aurora’s work after reading Poems From a Turquoise Heart and its musings on all sorts of matters of the heart, from love in every form; romantic, familial, and self-love to healing from trauma and loss. This book may be hard to find, but her Instagram is filled with poems from her other collections. There is Always Universe really stood out to me.

This one explores themes of the universe at large and the one that is contained within us and the natural and emotional multitudes inside and around us.

Aurora’s poetry is emotional, ethereal, and a healing to read, and I’m looking forward to taking this book off my TBR by the end of the month.

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Fill in the blank: at the end of the day ___. I’ll share my favorite comments in my story. Or leave your favorite space emojis below 🪐⭐️💫🌟 Own my amazon bestselling poetry collections THERE IS ALWAYS UNIVERSE and THE WILD KEEPS HER HOLY through the link in my bio. I hope you all had a great Thursday 🌟🥰

A post shared by Tiffany Aurora 💙💌 (@tiffany.aurora.poetry) on Feb 20, 2020 at 6:20pm PST


6. You Were Never Broken by Jeff Foster

Jeff Foster’s new book, You Were Never Broken – Poems to Save Your Life is an intimate collection that draws on the author’s own experiences of feeling anxious, restless, and even suicidal to share insight and hope with readers. 

Part poetry, part self-help book, You Were Never Broken is a beautiful reminder of what it means to be human and how to deal with some of the more difficult feelings that arise in life.

Foster challenges readers in the most comforting of ways, encouraging them to sit with their fears and difficult emotions instead of masking and suppressing them. The rawness and vulnerability in the verses is apparent and the reader is encouraged to embrace their own vulnerabilities with radical self-acceptance. 

You Were Never Broken is the best poetry collection I’ve read this year, but you’ll have to wait until it comes out on July 28, 2020, to enjoy for yourself, or check if ARCs are available.

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A sacred pause 🥰

A post shared by Jeff Foster (@jefffosterofficial) on Apr 17, 2020 at 7:09am PDT

Expect more beautiful musings on accepting and being present in the moment in You Were Never Broken.

Hopefully a few of these great approachable titles stood out to you! Any of them would be a great pick to diversify your reading and celebrate National Poetry Month.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Modern Poetry and what collections you’ve loved in the comments!

Review: break your glass slippers by Amanda Lovelace

March 30, 2020      milelongtbr      1 Comment

I love all of Amanda Lovelace’s poetry and break your glass slippers, her latest collection, really spoke to me.

The book is filled with gorgeous illustrations and lovely, poignant poems in the forms of self-realizations, notes from the fairy godmother, as well as other voices that come together in this collection to tell a story of another princess who ultimately has all she needs within her the entire time.

Modern, feminist, and empowering, the follow up to the ‘women are some kind magic’ series is perfect. It had me filled with emotion on more than one occasion, and I enjoyed reading the book in full as much as I’m sure I’ll love flipping back through it. I’m looking forward to hearing what more the ‘you are your own fairy tale’ series has in store for us.

This was a five-star poetry collection for me, and may just be my favorite from Lovelace to date.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the advance copy.

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I’m Danielle and I have a mile long TBR!

You can usually find me surrounded by books and cats, listening to an audiobook and designing something cute.

I love making new bookish friends and am so glad you’re here!

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Really, this pic is for the flowers, but I also lo Really, this pic is for the flowers, but I also loved Good Company by @cynthiadsweeney which I read last year. Her characters and their messy and real relationships stay in my mind long after I finish reading.
I took no vacation photos from this trip, but here I took no vacation photos from this trip, but here's an obligatory plane photo from the trip home. 

What's the best part about coming home from vacation for you? Im looking forward to my bed and seeing the cats!
✨Book recommendations needed! ✨ I'm looking f ✨Book recommendations needed! ✨

I'm looking for something very specific, and am hoping you awesome Bookstagram folks can help.

If my library haul doesn't give it away, I'm looking for literary fiction. Two of these titles I've read and loved (Silver Sparrow and Good Company) -the rest were titles that called to me, but not exactly what I was looking for. 

I've already gone through the blacklists of these two authors, plus Lily King,  Emily St John Mandel. Books with stories like This is Where I Leave You, The Sweeney Sisters.

Specifically, I'm looking for something:

💛written and set in the set in 21st century (this is most important to me-most of what I've been able to find is period and I need contemporary) 

💛 Preferably set in US/Canada

💛 Priority to female authors 

💛Dealing with dysfunctional family; themes of blood, home, self-discovery

💛Angsty adult characters 

💛 Full of beautiful writing 

💛 Setting that becomes central to story, esp. a small town or family home

💛Nothing too genre; speculative/scifi, romance, whatever. Looking for pure lit fic or contemporary fiction with literary bend. 

It's a long shot and I know I'm being picky, but if you can recommend something close to the above, I'd be eternally grateful! 💛
Don't think I could have fit another book in this Don't think I could have fit another book in this tote if i tried! 😂

I've been enjoying flipping through what I checked out during my latest library haul, but I couldn't resist snapping a pic before taking them out of the bag. Especially not when everything was so coordinated and the lighting was perfection.

I'm trying to get back into this Bookstagram thing- I've missed y'all too much!
On Wednesday we... A. Wear pink B. Read Toni C. S On Wednesday we...

A. Wear pink
B. Read Toni
C. Smash the Patriarchy
D. All of the Above

D 💯
When in doubt... I took a couple intentional phot When in doubt...

I took a couple intentional photos of my library trip this afternoon, but decided I liked this accidental one I must have accidentally snapped while putting my phone in my pocket best.

I hadn't been to the library in far too long and left with a full tote of books I probably won't read. So I guess you could say it was a good day! 

How's your week so far? 💛
Neera is my little shadow today while I'm getting Neera is my little shadow today while I'm getting some reading done in my the pool.

What are you reading today? I'm enjoying The Paris Apartment!
In two weeks this will be my reading view... ...b In two weeks this will be my reading view... 
...but for today I'm at my desk, working away on my computer. 

If you have any fun trips planned let me know in the comments!
Coffee and currently planning out my week... While Coffee and currently planning out my week... While listening to What She Witnessed. 

Any other planner girls on Bookstagram? 

I love a fresh week/spread... and decorating it with beautiful bookish stickers! These are ones I designed and made for my store and had to test out myself!
🐝Monday mood: Buzz off, I'm Reading! 🐝 I'm 🐝Monday mood: Buzz off, I'm Reading! 🐝

I'm hoping to make some time to finish up Night Shift by Alex Finlay today, and morning chapters with extra strong coffee and scones is the perfect way to make it happen. 

This mug is for sale at @milelongtbrboutique if you can relate ... or if people around you need a reminder!
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