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georgiatheresa's review
Repetitive and cliche. Needs to be edited down to a quarter the current length.
cosmicbookworm's review
5.0
I read this for a book club discussion. This is a valuable project. Guante (Kyle Tran Myhre) is a hip hop artist, a slam poet, an activist and educator who currently lives in Minneapolis. The book is a collection of Guante's works of poems, lyrics and essays, along with a call to action. This was my first experience with spoken word. Guante has multiple missions with this work, making it an important read for all of us regardless of race, gender, social or economic status. A lot to consider. The book was originally self published by Guante, but then got picked up by Button Poetry for the second edition. Thought provoking. I recommend this book to anyone on a path to "read until you understand."
lingfish7's review
5.0
What a gorgeous, unique collection of poetry, spoken word, essays, and songs. This was my first exposure to Guante and I absolutely love his style, talent, imagery, and emphasis on social justice. This poetry book was unlike anything I've encountered. You know those poetry books that you just wish had a bit more explanation after the poem about what the author was wrestling with as they wrote the poem? Guante includes extensive commentary following his poems that help the reader understand more of the context behind the poem. Furthermore, Guante has entire essays, creatively discussing various topics and written in a fun, narrative or prose way. So many of the poems made me rethink everything I knew about poetry. It was untraditional, beautiful, and inspiring. Guante does such an incredible job at challenging his readers/listeners to not just read and learn about social justice but to be a part of the movement of creating a more equal and just society. He uses his talent and his art to inspire a more beautiful society. I highly recommend reading along while listening to the audiobook because Guante's voice is powerful.
erikabee's review
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.75
findingmyshoes's review
5.0
Startling, intimate and tender imagery that shows insight into critical social issues.
harrydaylight's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
4.0
This, at its core, is spoken word poetry centered around social justice issues. Most of the poetry books about social justice I read always end up feeling too performative or shallow and one dimensional, but Guante discusses toxic masculinity, r*pe culture, consent, (white) privilege, social justice activism, the patriarchy etc. with such depth and just so cleverly. It was so refreshing to read.
You can actually find all of the poems as spoken word on Guante’s youtube channel! Reading while also listening to him perform these made the experience so much better for me. Listening to Guante perform is magical; he has such a way with words.
My favorite poems in A Love Song, a Death Rattle, a Battle Cry were Action, Handshakes, Starfish and Quicksand.
But let me tell you. This isn’t just a poetry book!!! It’s divided in three sections: poetry, essays and songs! I thought this was such a cool concept for a book, to include different types of art. The essay and song sections took me longer to get through, but the songs were pretty cool! They all hold different messages about capitalism, poverty, police brutality, white supremacy, bullying… A particular line in a song about activism that I liked: “This movement doesn’t need perfect / It just needs us to start working.”
Another cool thing about this book: Guante added notes and commentary (and writing prompts!) about each song/poem at the end of each section!
You can actually find all of the poems as spoken word on Guante’s youtube channel! Reading while also listening to him perform these made the experience so much better for me. Listening to Guante perform is magical; he has such a way with words.
My favorite poems in A Love Song, a Death Rattle, a Battle Cry were Action, Handshakes, Starfish and Quicksand.
But let me tell you. This isn’t just a poetry book!!! It’s divided in three sections: poetry, essays and songs! I thought this was such a cool concept for a book, to include different types of art. The essay and song sections took me longer to get through, but the songs were pretty cool! They all hold different messages about capitalism, poverty, police brutality, white supremacy, bullying… A particular line in a song about activism that I liked: “This movement doesn’t need perfect / It just needs us to start working.”
Another cool thing about this book: Guante added notes and commentary (and writing prompts!) about each song/poem at the end of each section!