Reviews

How Fire Is a Story, Waiting: Poems by Melinda Palacio

relf's review

5.0

A collection that pays tribute to family--especially strong women--and places--South L.A., New Orleans, Mexico, Santa Barbara. Vivid, moving writing. Thank you to my friend Mike for the loan of a book he knew I'd like.


Arizona,
Don't forget which country you come from.


My birthday gift barked back love.

lmurray74's review

5.0

I've thought long and hard about how to write about this book, along with two other books of poetry I read at the same time: Codeswitch: Fires from Mi Corazón by Iris de Anda, and When My Brother Was An Aztec by Natalie Díaz. I haven't come up with anything worthy. The three authors are based in and around Southern CA with some travels outside. Melinda Palacio frames her work through the elements: fire, air, water, and earth. She tells the story of her family, including the meeting of her parents, her father's "sin verguenza swagger" (one of my favourite poems in the book), and her father's time in prison. I love reading these poems over and over, in conjunction with the other two books I mentioned above. I'm going to link to a much more complete and worthy review http://latinopia.com/latino-literature/latinopia-book-review-how-fire-is-a-story-waiting/