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inkdrinkers's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
"Please don't think this was a journey / I wanted to take. / Please don't glorify this pain." (166)
S.K. Williams returns with their sophomore poetry collection "Maybe Today" about grief and how to keep forging towards the light in difficult times.
In this unique collection, Williams writes poetry in a journal and then shares it with a close friend, who leaves annotations throughout. I was a bit uncertain when I opened this collection how I'd feel about the addition of notes from a third party - but wow, I really ended up loving the notes. They were affirmations that the grief and emotions in each piece were valid, but also a stark reminder that the world is sometimes harsh but feels less so if you have a trusted friend beside you.
I found myself loving a lot of these poems! It would simply be too much to list them all, but my favorite section was Fall. I felt like it was an incredibly powerful opening for this collection and the art throughout was both warm and comforting. The idea of watching a quiet love story play out in the notes section as the poet fell slowly in love with his friend (and now partner) was so beautiful and felt like a gift to read about.
Some of the poems did seem to drag for me, but they ebbed and flowed like mental health often does. This is a highly personal collection which I think might deter some readers who don't have a personal connection with how up and down mental health journeys can be. I will say, occasionally the notes were a little cheesy at the end of poems, or were more personal in nature, but I stand by the fact they felt more reaffirming and comforting over pedantic or childish.
Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me a copy of this book for an honest review.
Content warnings for: grief, loss of a parent, alcoholism (from a parent), death of an animal, suicidal thoughts, mental health
S.K. Williams returns with their sophomore poetry collection "Maybe Today" about grief and how to keep forging towards the light in difficult times.
In this unique collection, Williams writes poetry in a journal and then shares it with a close friend, who leaves annotations throughout. I was a bit uncertain when I opened this collection how I'd feel about the addition of notes from a third party - but wow, I really ended up loving the notes. They were affirmations that the grief and emotions in each piece were valid, but also a stark reminder that the world is sometimes harsh but feels less so if you have a trusted friend beside you.
I found myself loving a lot of these poems! It would simply be too much to list them all, but my favorite section was Fall. I felt like it was an incredibly powerful opening for this collection and the art throughout was both warm and comforting. The idea of watching a quiet love story play out in the notes section as the poet fell slowly in love with his friend (and now partner) was so beautiful and felt like a gift to read about.
Some of the poems did seem to drag for me, but they ebbed and flowed like mental health often does. This is a highly personal collection which I think might deter some readers who don't have a personal connection with how up and down mental health journeys can be. I will say, occasionally the notes were a little cheesy at the end of poems, or were more personal in nature, but I stand by the fact they felt more reaffirming and comforting over pedantic or childish.
Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me a copy of this book for an honest review.
Content warnings for: grief, loss of a parent, alcoholism (from a parent), death of an animal, suicidal thoughts, mental health
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury
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