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tomhill's review
4.0
So the thing about poetry, in my view (and some may disagree and they are not necessarily wrong) is that it can be overwritten to the point of obscurity OR
someone just
adds line breaks
to something they have
written and
calls it
a poem
and often there is no
insight
there.
And that might just be art that I personally dislike, but for me, it's not a poem. And I don't think that expanding the view of what poetry is or can be is a bad thing. But poetry by definition needs poetic devices. Internal rhyme, alliteration, repetition, imagery, saying something relatable in a unique way, all of these things are moving to me. A "poem" without these things isn't going to move me. Poetry, more than other forms of writing, is dependent on the preciseness of its language, on getting everything just right. I could be wrong, but this opinion has deep roots. All of this is to say that Topaz Winters's collection is poetry done right. I guess I could have just said that. Poetic devices and accessible too. But I think the work shines even brighter in a small world of poetry that often feels dominated by Instagram poets and celebrity vanity projects. It seems not unlikely to me that someday most everyone in the small world of poetry will know the work of Winters. My favorite poems:
"Guidebook for Wild Things Wishing to Be Tamed"
"For H"
"But First, the Stomach"
"Alternate Names for Gay Girls"
"Still"
"Lone/Pack"
"Call Me Before You Leave Again"
someone just
adds line breaks
to something they have
written and
calls it
a poem
and often there is no
insight
there.
And that might just be art that I personally dislike, but for me, it's not a poem. And I don't think that expanding the view of what poetry is or can be is a bad thing. But poetry by definition needs poetic devices. Internal rhyme, alliteration, repetition, imagery, saying something relatable in a unique way, all of these things are moving to me. A "poem" without these things isn't going to move me. Poetry, more than other forms of writing, is dependent on the preciseness of its language, on getting everything just right. I could be wrong, but this opinion has deep roots. All of this is to say that Topaz Winters's collection is poetry done right. I guess I could have just said that. Poetic devices and accessible too. But I think the work shines even brighter in a small world of poetry that often feels dominated by Instagram poets and celebrity vanity projects. It seems not unlikely to me that someday most everyone in the small world of poetry will know the work of Winters. My favorite poems:
"Guidebook for Wild Things Wishing to Be Tamed"
"For H"
"But First, the Stomach"
"Alternate Names for Gay Girls"
"Still"
"Lone/Pack"
"Call Me Before You Leave Again"
lifeinpoetry's review
5.0
Topaz Winter’s portrait of my body as a crime i'm still committing is a book in which tenderness has given way to hunger, both literal and of the soul. Queer desire, mental illness, and loving a girl likened to the moon in poems sharp and explosive.
The references to hallucinations, coupled with the poem about antipsychotics, and references to hospitals and other forms of mental illness, made me feel that moment of being seen, of the reality/unreality of that experience being written about frankly.
Love and desire cleaves two sick girls together, the journey of their ascent and descent chronicled in poems so bright with want they ache, they cut. Relatable: “& still I do not believe / in God. Still I believe in you instead.”
Relatable: “Some days I don’t eat just so my best friend / will worry about me, just so my mother will / call at 7:30 & make sure I’m eating dinner.”
This collection ends softly. It ends with forgiveness. Topaz Winters takes you to the edge of destruction and holds out a saving hand, inviting you into the warmth of healing and familial love.
—
I received a PDF copy in exchange for an honest review.
The references to hallucinations, coupled with the poem about antipsychotics, and references to hospitals and other forms of mental illness, made me feel that moment of being seen, of the reality/unreality of that experience being written about frankly.
Love and desire cleaves two sick girls together, the journey of their ascent and descent chronicled in poems so bright with want they ache, they cut. Relatable: “& still I do not believe / in God. Still I believe in you instead.”
Relatable: “Some days I don’t eat just so my best friend / will worry about me, just so my mother will / call at 7:30 & make sure I’m eating dinner.”
This collection ends softly. It ends with forgiveness. Topaz Winters takes you to the edge of destruction and holds out a saving hand, inviting you into the warmth of healing and familial love.
—
I received a PDF copy in exchange for an honest review.
corgimuffins's review
5.0
4.5 stars
my favorite poem in this was july.
“I kissed a girl on the grass & told her about the things I never
thought I would survive.”
“Bless every poem
about healing. Bless every false start
that made it possible for me to write poems about healing.
& bless
every single person
who has ever asked if I’m okay. Bless every
single person who has loved me”
my favorite poem in this was july.
“I kissed a girl on the grass & told her about the things I never
thought I would survive.”
“Bless every poem
about healing. Bless every false start
that made it possible for me to write poems about healing.
& bless
every single person
who has ever asked if I’m okay. Bless every
single person who has loved me”
ciarazard's review
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
"Your mother taught you to be a good girl, which is another way of saying she taught you not to take up space with your wanting."
"What I mean is I want an existence without the scarring of unfinished things."
"So many times my body has been more ache than human."
"If that mouth is not holy then God never spoke."
Absolutely adored Portrait of My Body as a Crime I'm Still Committing and devoured most, if not all, the poems I read in this book. Hard to pick a favorite poem, much less a favorite line. Initially wanted to give this a 4 but decided to give it a 5 because it's been a while since I read poetry that made me want to write again.
"What I mean is I want an existence without the scarring of unfinished things."
"So many times my body has been more ache than human."
"If that mouth is not holy then God never spoke."
Absolutely adored Portrait of My Body as a Crime I'm Still Committing and devoured most, if not all, the poems I read in this book. Hard to pick a favorite poem, much less a favorite line. Initially wanted to give this a 4 but decided to give it a 5 because it's been a while since I read poetry that made me want to write again.