Reviews

Finna: Poems by Nate Marshall

sisala's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

nuhafariha's review

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5.0

Thank you to Random House & NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available August 11 2020

WOW. WOW. WOW. Keeping a close eye to the incredible poetry renaissance in the Chicago and its surrounding areas has been a constant source of joy for me over the last few years & Nate Marshall is one of those incredible emerging poets. Starting with "landless acknowledgements:, Marshall unrepentantly lays claim to his life as a black man from Chicago. By turns heartbreaking & explosive, the poems run together like a pack of hood teenagers on a Friday night. There is tragedy yes, but there is also strength, a great faith in the power of the people.. Finna should be mandatory reading for every high school and college freshman in America RIGHT NOW.

narbine's review against another edition

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reflective fast-paced

4.5

jennahehemann's review

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5.0

Poems are so personal and I appreciated the journey the poet took me on through this collection.

strandedinbooks's review

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I...have no way of putting into words how much I loved this book.

And this is why Nate is the poet and I’m the one devouring these poems.

kimmeyer's review

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5.0

These poems are so sharp. They leap off the page and flow so well.

marthauhlig's review against another edition

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challenging reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

thatsoneforthebooks's review

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5.0

Really deliberate and beautiful in how he plays with language, rhythm, and different vernaculars to create poems that resonate in your soul. A thought-provoking reflection on Blackness, masculinity, identity, history and the future.

jakekilroy's review

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4.0

Marshall's collection has such an energy to it, a true beat of performance to its assembly of words, and with it comes a sense of self-assuredness, as pronounced when evocative as it is when it vibrates vulnerability. He unfolds and bounces through his self as human, his persona as poet, his offering as love interest, his place in black culture, and so on — a wonderful introspection with powerful depth.

americattt's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

“my grandma used to say i love you.

my grandma gone.
my convictions gone too.
does that mean an end
to the long curve of her love
or mine?

does that mean i love you
is always bound to end up
a story? If so what kind?
the worst thing or 
one of the small impossibilities
that puts us here.”

favorite poems: how to pronounce nathaniel, inner child age projection: 57 years old, and what it is & will be