moolyd's review against another edition
5.0
this collection weaves the historical and personal almost seamlessly. natasha’s historical expertise and research is shown off, and she complements it with many poems that are ekphrasis. she contextualizes the history of mixed parentage by demonstrating its roots in colonialism and slavery (specifically having white and black parents) using artistic and historical examples. she then features poems that show how this dynamic plays out in a personal level: her relationship with her father. by the time i finished this collection and everything came together, i really loved it.
zoraisrising's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
“And I saw the rifle for what it is: a relic/ sharp as sorrow, the battle hollow as regret”- artifact OOH THAT LINE GUYTED ME. Natasha DONT MISS
brandysith's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed the concept of writing poems about paintings, but it would have been much better if the paintings were actually included in the book.
nick_jenkins's review against another edition
3.0
Unlike Native Guard, the poems about Trethewey's father are by far superior to her historical reflections. Most of these historical poems are close readings of seventeenth or eighteenth century paintings, which gives these poems a static, rather flat quality, the very opposite of her superbly dynamic poems in Native Guard. "Enlightenment" is a standout, as is "Bird in the House." "Torna Atras" is much better than the other historicals.
miranda_is_currently_reading's review against another edition
5.0
After today, I NEEDED this book. It was perfect, and exactly what I needed to allow myself to step back, think about my day, and realize that because of people like Natasha Trethewey and anyone who can relate or feel something when they read one of her poems, there's always a bright side, and there IS hope.
ktkeps's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
alisarae's review against another edition
The poet, Natasha Trethewey, is the black daughter of a white father. The poems in Thrall are personal reflections on her family dynamics and poetic ruminations on the history of mixed parentage in the Americas. Many poems are about paintings where people of different races are interacting in intimate spaces, particularly the Casta paintings. So read with Google close by. I always enjoy poems about visual art. Art reflecting art reflecting life.
“The wages of empire is myopia”
“The wages of empire is myopia”