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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Stunning. The words didn't leap off the page. They soaked into my mind and heart in a way that only wonderfully emotional intention can. As both a homage, adoration, and encouragement about Sin's partner and women in general, the heartache and splendor of love. The way Sin flits between both because they're both needed is breathtaking.
Full Review:
https://thescarletreaderreviews.wordpress.com/2021/10/24/reclaiming-the-heart-whiskey-words-a-shovel-i-a-book-review/
Full Review:
https://thescarletreaderreviews.wordpress.com/2021/10/24/reclaiming-the-heart-whiskey-words-a-shovel-i-a-book-review/
Okay, so I want to start off by saying that I'm not sure I count his work as poetry. I think that books like this are writing, and that they're important and beautiful sometimes, but I have a hard time say that it's poetry. That's no a degration-- I just don't think it has a genre yet.
That being said, I'm not super sure I liked this. I think what primarily bothered me is that the author is male, and there are some things that he says that felt kind of degrading or slightly irrelevant. There are some solid moments. But this volume needed editing. There's a lot here that I didn't need. But who knows, maybe I'll come back to it when I go through a breakup?
That being said, I'm not super sure I liked this. I think what primarily bothered me is that the author is male, and there are some things that he says that felt kind of degrading or slightly irrelevant. There are some solid moments. But this volume needed editing. There's a lot here that I didn't need. But who knows, maybe I'll come back to it when I go through a breakup?
When someone comes along with the incredible ability to scribe your deepest emotions in black and white, it is impossible to speak against it. It gives you compassion, because you know, now, that you are not alone in it, and that gives you comfort. Marvelous.
Some worthy words
no one taught you to love you and that’s your biggest problem searching for validation in people who will never accept you for you being made to feel like you’re not good enough trying to prove yourself to those who will never be good enough for you
no one taught you to love you and that’s your biggest problem searching for validation in people who will never accept you for you being made to feel like you’re not good enough trying to prove yourself to those who will never be good enough for you
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
One of the poems in this this collection is titled “a tweet.”, which is exactly what each entry in this book should have been— a tweet. Over 282 pages, Sin rehashes the same ideas and themes time and time again, only barely able to create different poems. In one instance, there were three poems in a row about not trusting someone who says “I miss you”— just one poem on that topic would have been more than sufficient.
Additionally, at the beginning of this book, I had assumed Sin was a woman. The book is heavily focused on women’s pain, emotions, brokenness, and healing— I figured Sin must be a woman writing about her own experiences. Cheesy poems, but if that was how she felt empowered, so be it. Upon finding Sin was not, in fact, a woman, the thoughts and intentions behind the words I read seemed to shift. Sin seems to have an obsession with the “broken woman”, her strength, and her deserving of love. He constantly feels the need to remind her that she deserves more, at the same time reminding her that while other men have hurt her and have failed to understand her, he is a real man and will treat her right. It feels like a constant assertion of the idea that a woman needs a man to tell her what her worth is, and a constant stroking of his own ego. He’s not like other men. He’s better. He knows how to treat you right. Isn’t he so intelligent, emotional, deep, and sensitive?
In one poem, he even directly addresses his partner as “woman”. Endearing, maybe, if another woman had said it, but knowing it was written by a man leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.
I can count the number of decent poems in this book on one hand. For 282 pages… that’s really unacceptable.
Some of these poems are absolutely egregious. While riding home from the library, I accidentally flipped to “crown me 722.” and realized— “Oh. This book is going to be bad.” And while some of them are absolutely horrendous, most of the poems are simply mediocre, trite, cliches not worth remembering. I only finished this book because it was easy to read and because I thought it would be amusing. Which it was! But if I hadn’t already brought it home from the library by the time I realized what this book was, I wouldn’t have given it my time.
At the very least, my friends and I had some good laughs about the poems in this book. If you’d like to hate-read a book of bad poetry, this is the book for you. But if you’re looking for a poetry book that actually has something meaningful to say about the healing process after a bad relationship, you should place your time elsewhere.
Some favorite funny quotes & poems:
if love trumps all, then why the hell
is he our potus
my heart rate increasing
as told by my fitbit
I was eager to double-tap
you in real life
challenge.
hashtag
stop wasting
your time
on him
crown me 722.
she crowned the tip of my head
with the lips between her thighs
my Queen made me King
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Self harm, Sexual content, Alcohol
While the book doesn’t discuss misogyny, I personally find the attitude of the author towards women a bit suspect.
Honestly some angsty male poetry trying to act and know female struggle.
It's good for self help or if you need some mental support but it's not really poetry