poets – a writer’s blog.

Poetry Review: Black Movie (2015)

Published on August 27, 2021 by R.1 Comment

‘why does it always have to be about race?’ Because you made it that way! Because you put an asterisk on my sister’s gorgeous face! Because you call her pretty (for a black girl)! Because black girls go missing without so much as a whisper of where?! Because there is no Amber Alert for the Amber Skinned Girls! Because we didn’t invent the bullet! Because crack was not our recipe! Because Jordan boomed. Because Emmitt whistled. Because Huey P. spoke. Because Martin preached. Because black boys can always be too loud to live. Because it’s taken my father’s time, my mother’s time, my uncle’s time, my brother’s & my sister’s time, my niece’s & my nephew’s time… how much time do you want for your progress?

If I could quote this whole collection of poetry and prose, I would. Each one tugged at my heart and filled me with emotion. I read it pretty much start to finish, only pausing once. The words in here are achingly raw, poignant and beautiful. The prose is exquisite and painful and brutal. A must read for sure.

I thoroughly recommend everyone give this their time.

Poetry Review Roundup

Published on June 25, 2021 by R.2 Comments

Of Darkness and Light by Despoina Kemeridou

In rivers of hatred,
and oceans of lust,
I’ll roam forever,
until I am dust

Some really good poems in here! This was my first time reading Kemeridou’s poems, and I will definitely check out more by this author! Great stuff.

The Beauty of Words by Gary Pollard

We shouldn’t need to request
To be free.
But some leaders
Simply would disagree.

I stumbled across this little book of poetry completely by random, but I’m so glad I snagged a copy! It’s a really fun, magical (maybe magical realism?), wholesome little book and the rhymes are smashing! Definitely worth reading!

Poetry Review: The Smallest of Bones (2021)

Published on May 3, 2021 by R.1 Comment

The Smallest of Bones by Holly Lyn Walrath

my body is two-thirds
whiskey
and one-third
ghosts

ABSOLUTELY. FRAKKING. STUNNING POETRY.

I think we write about ourselves so we can become creatures
we wish we could get out of our skin

Walrath is an excellent poet and I cannot wait to read more of her poetry. ♡♡♡

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Poetry Review: Fairytales (2020)

Published on May 2, 2021 by R.1 Comment

Fairytales: A Poetry Collection by M.E. Aster

twisted lies and poisoned trees
you are more than that to me
a volatile orchard perhaps

This is a collection of introspective, emotive poetry and prose that is definitely worth checking out! I can’t wait to read more of Aster’s writing.

Poetry and Photography Review: Rhythm Flourishing (2020) and Seizing the Bygone Light (2021)

Published on April 2, 2021April 2, 2021 by R.1 Comment

Rhythm Flourishing: A Collection of Kindku and Sixku
by Cendrine Marrouat and David Ellis

Today
questions still
haunt old stone.

Ooooh, I do adore photography blended with poetry. I’d never heard of Kindku and Sixku before, so learning about these types of poetry was very informative!

I loved so many of the poems, especially the one quoted above and the one inspired by William Ernest Henley, who is a personal favourite of mine. The photography in here is absolutely stunning, too! \o/

Seizing the Bygone Light: A Tribute to Early Photography
by Cendrine Marrouat, David Ellis & Hadiya Ali

I have seized the light! I have arrested his flight! The sun himself in future shall draw my pictures! – Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, 1839, quoted within.

Oh my gosh, the photographs in here are so stunning. I saw some familiar places, but so many new ones and it’s making my desire to travel so much bigger! Ugh, seeing beautiful pictures while locked inside during a pandemic is just MEAN (but in the best way, haha). \o/

Anyways, this is a lovely little collection of photography and poetry and I totally recommend it!

Thank you so much to the authors for the review copies!

Poetry Review: Emotionally Raw by Carlos Cabrera & Lovable Losers and Romantic Monsters by B.P. Learner

Published on March 8, 2021 by R.2 Comments

You guys know how much I adore poetry, and I was so fortunate to stumble across Emotionally Raw and Loveable Losers and Romantic Monsters this week! These two titles are by indie poets Leaner and Cabrera, and they deserve so much more attention than they’re getting! Man, poetry seriously does not get enough attention. Thus, allow me to shout from the rooftops POETRY IS GREAT AND THERE ARE MANY NEW POETS OUT THERE!

In Emotionally Raw, Cabrera writes straight from the heart, and you feel his words in every line. There are so many good lines in his poems, but here are some of my favourites:

This must be a dream, vivid as they come,
What did I do to deserve someone like you?
Whatever it was, I must have love from someone above.

If I could, I’d show you the universe
If I could, I’d leave the darkness for good

Land of the free, home of the brave
If you are not exploitable
You won’t be saved

So many of these lines just hit me. Such brilliant writing!

In Loveable Losers and Romantic Monsters, Leaner evokes emotion with every word, spinning lines beautifully and provoking introspection.

We are the creepers,
the weird, the strangers,
the witches and warlocks,
the monsters

the woods stretched infinitely into black oneness with all of us and our otherliness.

The most powerful thing you can do for yourself is to love all the ugliness in your soul.

Because art is telling us, whispering in our ears, warmly and congenially:
Come to me you hurt people.
I’ll give you all solace.

I love, love, love poetry like this. So impressed. Otherliness is a word I feel in my bones, yo.

I definitely recommend these poets! If anyone has any poetry to share, do link me in the comments!

Poetry Review: For Our Country by Shahein Farahani

Published on August 19, 2020 by R.2 Comments

‘For Our Country’ by Shahein Farahani

My greetings to you, women who are concerned
for our country
Women bewildered by all that they have learned
of our country

This is such a powerful poem. Wow.

I’d never heard of Shahein Farahani until I came across this poem. From what I’ve read, she published under the name ‘Shahein Farahani’ (I’ve also seen her name written Shahin Farahani, real name Fatemeh Farahani) and wrote poetry in 19th century Iran, focusing on women’s rights. I really liked this poem and I’m definitely going to check out more of her work asap.

If you’re curious to read this one, there’s a link here.*

*I’ve read the criticisms for republishing these works with the authors’ real names as opposed to the male pseudonyms they adopted, and those critiques are valid and make a lot of points I hadn’t considered. I’m sharing the link because I can’t find Farahani’s poetry elsewhere and I really did enjoy her poetry. If anyone has links to find more of Farahani’s works, please do link me!

In trying to find her works, I stumbled upon the upcoming The Mirror of My Heart: A Thousand Years of Persian Poetry by Women, which I’m now really looking forward to! The collection ‘examines the work of over eighty female Persian-language poets from the past thousand years’! Can’t wait!

Mini Review Roundup [17/06]

Published on June 17, 2020 by R.1 Comment

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

This was fast paced and brilliantly written, definitely worth a read. I did, however, spend 99% of this novel going:

flight is a magazine collection of poetry and prose. It’s going to take me a while to get through them all, but there are some great poems in here! I especially liked ‘Kite Flying’ by Arian Farhat. I love poems that can tell a story while weaving in lovely turns of phrase.

the golden eagle soared over
the dusty dry lands
perhaps my family looked
up once in a while and
saw it circling overhead,
a blessing, a curse, or a spell in reverse

Absolutely lovely writing! I can’t wait to check out the rest of flight. If you’re a fan of poetry, check this collection out for yourself here.

Uncanny Magazine Poetry Roundup [14/06]

Published on June 14, 2020 by R.1 Comment

I managed to read a good few poems today, yay! (/◕ヮ◕)/

Uncanny Magazine Issue 3: March/April 2015

First, the cover of this issue is *everything*!

‘Cloudbending’ by Jennifer Crow was wonderful.

If mortal hands could map the skies,
make clouds into countries
or sunsets into salvation,
what strange markets would open

I loved this part especially. The whole poem just flows so well. Read it for yourself here.

‘Deep Bitch’ by C. S. E. Cooney was also very striking and had some great lines.

She tuns her blunted head my way.
Nips me, rips me open slightly.
Her smile is all teeth.

*chills* Read it for yourself here.

Uncanny Magazine Issue 8: January/February 2016

‘tended, tangled, and veined’ by Kayla Whaley was beautifully intense and raw. It’s a story in a poem and I love the imagery Whaley uses!

she practiced her girlhood with heat–stricken hair, sheared nails, scrubbed skin.
she baptized herself with fat wrung from beans and battered into butter.
she oiled her joints with poise,
scented her flesh with propriety,
and clothed herself in performance.
she practiced girlhood,
but she never quite perfected it.

I thoroughly recommend this poem and I can’t wait to read the rest of this issue. Some seriously good writing here. Read it for yourself here.

Uncanny Magazine Issue 9: March/April 2016

OH MY GOSH ‘FOXGIRL CYCLE SONG: 1‘ IS SO GOOD.

Trap her in thorn, and she’ll slip her skin
Drown her in water, she’ll learn to swim
Burn her, she’ll turn into smoke and wind
Think you can catch her?
Well, think again

This poem is by C. S. E. Cooney and I’m SHOOK. What a fantastic poem! Read it for yourself here.

‘The Book of Forgetting’ by Jennifer Crow was also great!

You taught me heaven is not a place, but
the magic circle drawn around two souls

I loved the emotion in this one. Read it for yourself here.

Uncanny Magazine Issue 11: July/August 2016

I started this issue with ‘The Persecution of Witches’ by Ali Trotta. It gave me chills.

Tell me what ‘legitimate’ means—
how much proof do I need
to convince you
that blood is blood
and bruises are bruises?
Why is my voice a casualty
of violence you won’t examine?

It’s a commentary on modern rape culture and I recommend everyone read it. Very strong, very poignant. Available online here.

Read any poetry lately? I’d love some recommendations!

Films, Poems and Currently Reading Roundup and Review Post [02/06]

Published on June 2, 2020June 2, 2020 by R.2 Comments

JONAS (2018) | lgbt+, french, drama

Jonas [aka I Am Jonas] is a gut-punching, haunting addition to lgbt+ films. The film follows the eponymous main character Jonas after he’s arrested on night out at a club, Boys. One of the police officers knows him from school and they reminisce for a little while in the back of the car. The film then begins flashing from the past to the present and we learn how Jonas ended up so angry and adrift. We see Jonas as a teenager meeting Nathan, a new boy in school. They quickly fall in love and, despite homophobic peers, start a relationship that’s kind, sweet and supported by Nathan’s mother, who also welcomes Jonas into her home.

Back in the present, Jonas follows a man around the city, keeping his distance until he goes into a hotel where the man works. They talk a little. The man doesn’t know him, but it’s clear Jonas knows the man. After setting off the smoke alarm in his room and getting kicked out, the pair start to talk in the lobby. When Jonas is invited to go drinking, he accepts, and we slowly start to learn more.

The story moves along with slow determination. There’s clearly some mystery to be unfolded. This is definitely a heavy kind of drama. Prepare for tears. I do recommend it, though. Félix Maritaud is an incredible actor and I really want to see him in more films! A very well done film over all.

Mr. Right (2015) | action, comedy, romance

Okay, I honestly really liked this one. It’s silly and over the top and implausible and ridiculously good fun, and it is totally worth a watch! The movie follows Martha (played by Anna Kendrick), a risk-seeking woman who’s allergic to good advice and wise decisions, and Francis (played by Sam Rockwell), a notorious killer for hire, apparently (?) and former spy, allegedly (?). Basically, you’re not sure what’s up with Francis for most of the movie, or whether he’s good or bad, but he’s clearly had a lot of training and is good at dancing and has enemies coming out of his ears. Oh, and he wears a clown nose. You’re just not told why for a good bit. You only know that he’s kind to Martha and completely honest with her. (She thinks he’s joking when he talks about his job and how he got his scar.)

I think what I liked so much about this one was how honest and straight to the point all the characters were. There was no side-stepping around topics or slow, predictable build up. It’s kind of like when you’re watching a movie about someone first learning about magic and they keep denying it and you’re like, c’mon, just believe in it already. This movie isn’t fantasy, it’s action, but it’s great that the characters just jump straight to the point.

Martha and Francis are clearly made for each other (and clearly on a frequency that no one in their lives finds normal), but they suit each other. And their chemistry is fantastic. If you like fun, romance and action, I recommend giving this one a shot!

POEMS POEMS POEMS (/◕ヮ◕)/ Seriously, why don’t I read poetry more often? I’ve read so many poems this weekend and I have missed poetry. *chef’s kiss* These poems are all from Uncanny Magazine Issue 21.

‘Found Discarded: A Love Poem, Questionably Addressed’ by Cassandra Khaw was absolutely breath-taking.

The Greeks believed
that a human being
is one entity unseamed at the spine,
opened at the breastbone, parted at
the lips, which is why we spend all our lives pressing
together at the hips, at the fingertips

RIGHT?! How lush. I’m in awe. Read it here.

‘The Fairies in the Crawlspace’ by Beth Cato is so dark and twisted and really, really well done. If you like Grimm’s faerie tales, this one is for you.