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blaze_o_glory's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Calling a Wolf a Wolf is a collection, beautiful and terrifying in its honesty. My favorite poems are God and Portrait of the Alcoholic with Doubt and Kingfisher
thismustbemyexit's review
4.0
a beautiful collection. there is an earnestness in kaveh’s writing that makes it intuitive and accessible and resonant.
tenderedge's review
5.0
Made me feel. Made me want to write poetry. Filled me with longing and refractory memories and recognition.
wellhemay's review
5.0
I didn't normally read poetry so rating this was difficult. However, I found each poem gripping and descriptive. I'm so very enamored with Akbar's way with words and language. He's fast become the sort of author whose work I'd read even if it was just the back of a shampoo bottle.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Islamophobia
umutulker's review
5.0
i am OBSESSED with this book. i had to stop and breathe at times. the familiar horror, the beauty, the depth of spirit it has is truly astounding. it is one of the best books i’ve read in my life.
the topics are so vulnerable that one wonders if any author/poet can write about them with enough power and justice… but kaveh akbar is absolutely brilliant, and proves that with every line written.
my favorites:
- calling a wolf a wolf (inpatient)
- stop me if you’ve heard this one before
- milk
- exciting the canvas
- wake me up when it’s my birthday
- what seems like joy
- portrait of the alcoholic with moths and river
- rimrock
- prayer
- thirstiness is not equal division
- long pig
- being in this world makes me feel like a time traveler
- portrait of the alcoholic with re-lapse fantasy
- the new world
- against hell
- unburnable the cold is flooding our lives
- everything that moves is alive and a threat—a reminder
- what use is knowing anything if no one is around
- an apology
- every drunk wants to die sober it’s how we beat the game
- despite their size children are easy to remember they watch you
- so often the body becomes a distraction
- portrait of the alcoholic stranded alone on a desert island
the topics are so vulnerable that one wonders if any author/poet can write about them with enough power and justice… but kaveh akbar is absolutely brilliant, and proves that with every line written.
my favorites:
- calling a wolf a wolf (inpatient)
- stop me if you’ve heard this one before
- milk
- exciting the canvas
- wake me up when it’s my birthday
- what seems like joy
- portrait of the alcoholic with moths and river
- rimrock
- prayer
- thirstiness is not equal division
- long pig
- being in this world makes me feel like a time traveler
- portrait of the alcoholic with re-lapse fantasy
- the new world
- against hell
- unburnable the cold is flooding our lives
- everything that moves is alive and a threat—a reminder
- what use is knowing anything if no one is around
- an apology
- every drunk wants to die sober it’s how we beat the game
- despite their size children are easy to remember they watch you
- so often the body becomes a distraction
- portrait of the alcoholic stranded alone on a desert island