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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
This might be the best book of poetry I’ve ever read. Akbar is actually a genius, and I would have an actual heart attack if I ever got to meet him.
Hot, raw, and vibrant, this poetry collection will send you to strange places and unearth emotions that hit close to home. Kaveh Akbar is truly a poetry rockstar.
”my whole life I answered every cry for help with a pour
with a turning away
I’ve given this coldness many names
thinking if it had a name it would have been a solution
thinking if I called a wolf a wolf I might dull its fangs”
Martyr! was my favorite 2024 book release so I really shouldn’t have been surprised by how good this poetry collection is, but wooow I was blown away by this!
The bleak cover made me worry that this debut collection would be edgy and bleh, but like Martyr! every single page is written with a tenderness that pierced my brain. If it weren’t for the fact that I checked this out from the library, I probably would have highlighted at least one phrase from every poem here. I imagine picking up this collection from time to time in my life and coming away with some different revelation after every reading.
Needless to say I loved this book.
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
This collection isn't for me, and that's okay. The structure of the poems was unique, and the author conjures vivid imagery in his phrasing. I can feel the author's struggle and anguish as he has faced addiction. Maybe that's why it didn't resonate with me as much as other poetry collections have--I haven't felt these struggles that Kaveh Akbar has, so it would be unrealistic for me to relate to the text fully.
At times, the poems felt all over the place or sporadic, and the lack of consistent grammar/punctuation marks made it hard to read and follow at times.
My favorite piece was definitely "Orchids Are Sprouting From The Floorboards."
At times, the poems felt all over the place or sporadic, and the lack of consistent grammar/punctuation marks made it hard to read and follow at times.
My favorite piece was definitely "Orchids Are Sprouting From The Floorboards."
"I feel most like a person when
I am forcing something to be silent, holding a rat underwater or twining
shut the jaw of a lamb before it’s roasted on the spit."
I am forcing something to be silent, holding a rat underwater or twining
shut the jaw of a lamb before it’s roasted on the spit."
emotional
sad
slow-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced