alexanderp's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
A moving collection that reading after The Tradition felt out of order since there are seeds of that collection here. It is also a much quieter poetics, that seems to dig at our internal lives.
misscalije's review against another edition
5.0
I took my time with this collection and I’m very glad that I did so. There is a lot to unpack, and the sociology of the poetry is stuff that really interests me.
I definitely have the ability to critique poetry, but I’m not about to pretend I have the authority tear this collection apart and put its meaning together in my own words. Brown’s work is so closely tied to issues of race, which I enjoyed, and I think that it must have done a good job imparting it’s message and moving me, a privileged white man.
The collection was recommended to me when I was finding work dealing with gender and sexuality. Brown’s experience (he named himself several times in the collection) was rooted to his racial identity, and it was good to read with an intersectional eye.
If I had to pick A favorite, it would be Motherland. I enjoyed the narrative form, and it worked well as a change from the other more contemporary-form poems (if that makes sense).
Love love love.
I definitely have the ability to critique poetry, but I’m not about to pretend I have the authority tear this collection apart and put its meaning together in my own words. Brown’s work is so closely tied to issues of race, which I enjoyed, and I think that it must have done a good job imparting it’s message and moving me, a privileged white man.
The collection was recommended to me when I was finding work dealing with gender and sexuality. Brown’s experience (he named himself several times in the collection) was rooted to his racial identity, and it was good to read with an intersectional eye.
If I had to pick A favorite, it would be Motherland. I enjoyed the narrative form, and it worked well as a change from the other more contemporary-form poems (if that makes sense).
Love love love.