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dingokitty14's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
shit_she_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
3.0
“Poūkahangatus“ is Tayi Tibble’s debut collection and I was really intrigued by the beautiful cover art, the promise of pop culture meeting Māori culture, and the fact that I hadn’t read a book by a Māori author until then (shame on me—I know). I generally enjoyed the collection, but I thought it was sometimes hard to grasp the concept and meaning behind some of the poems. This is definitely due to my lack of knowledge about Māori and New Zealand’s history and culture, but I still would’ve loved some explanations or translations in a couple of footnotes. Some of the poems are put together really beautifully and I highlighted a lot of lines, but others felt a little more like rambling and I couldn’t really connect. Overall, I’m a little torn: “Poūkahangatus“ won’t become one of my favorite poetry collections and I don’t love Tibble’s writing style, but there are definitely some favorites and I would be interested in reading her second collection.
My favorite poems are:
Cowboys and Indians
Nobody in the Water
Long White Clouds
LBD
Vampires versus Werewolves
Receipt
Identity Politics
My favorite poems are:
Cowboys and Indians
Nobody in the Water
Long White Clouds
LBD
Vampires versus Werewolves
Receipt
Identity Politics
roorooreads's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
2.0
I'm not sure if I really want to gave this a rating but if I go based off enjoyment I have to only give it 2 stars. I only truly felt/understood/liked a few poems in this collection. The rest didn't make sense to me. This is one of those book I just don't feel smart enough to fully appreciate. I am sure someone who better understands poverty would still enjoy this though so don't be discouraged from reading if it was on your tbr.
toffishay's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
A really great collection for fans of modern poetry that explores what it means to live in a modern world, but with connections to everything around us and all that came before. My favorite poems were "Ode to Johnsonville's Cindy Crawford", "Nobody in the Water", "Christmas", "Baptism", and "Vampires versus Werewolves". If you like the work of Melissa Lozada Oliva, I think that you'll like this one too.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Colonisation
monalyisha's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
Based on cover art alone and the promise that Tibble would “challenge a dazzling array of mythologies — Greek, Māori, feminist, Kiwi —“, I was excited to dive in to her poems.
Unfortunately, I struggled to connect and rarely found a turn of phrase that caught me quick. It seems like those who listened to the audio hold the opposite opinion. Perhaps Tibble’s intimate reading and cadence would have impressed itself upon me differently.
It struck me as very young, which isn’t *necessarily* a criticism…but it is in this case. I am not upset to be moving on.
Stand-outs in this collection include: “Pania”, “Vampires versus Werewolves”, and “Red American Mustang.”
Unfortunately, I struggled to connect and rarely found a turn of phrase that caught me quick. It seems like those who listened to the audio hold the opposite opinion. Perhaps Tibble’s intimate reading and cadence would have impressed itself upon me differently.
It struck me as very young, which isn’t *necessarily* a criticism…but it is in this case. I am not upset to be moving on.
Stand-outs in this collection include: “Pania”, “Vampires versus Werewolves”, and “Red American Mustang.”