A review by lovecommamelis
Knees in the Garden by Christina D. Rodriguez, Christina D. Rodriguez

5.0

After not reading a lick of poetry for over a year now, I’m ecstatic that my first read back was Rodriguez’s debut poetry collection, “Knees in the Garden”. Rodriguez’s diction paired with her language switching to Spanish is incredibly tasteful—I had stopped several times to define and translate certain words and phrases, so I could grasp the gravity of what she was conveying. Not only that, but her careful syntax paired with consistent alliteration makes for wonderful music in her poetry. Each page is a delight because you don’t know what to expect what poetic style Rodriguez would equip, but at the same time, you could see her poetry’s themes and motifs bleeding into each other and forming its own story. She illustrates themes and motifs like the good, bad and ugly of love and sex with others and one’s self, spirituality and ancestry, body politics, and domestic and sexual abuse. Some notable examples and favorites (it was incredibly difficult choosing) are ‘Mujer of Combustible Living’, ‘Goddess’, ‘Phases’, ‘Movie Night’ paired with ‘Really?’, and ‘Choices’. I highly recommend this collection, as Rodriguez’s words are laced with passion and rage that make the reader breathless.