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emilychau's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
jennichferg's review against another edition
5.0
I liked the idea of this book but love the poems even more; I love Neruda’s odes and now love Bennett’s even more.
booksbythecup's review against another edition
Thank you Penguin Random House for gifted book.
Reading 'Elegy for the Modern School' in OWED by Joshua Bennett, made the saying I have heard at different times in my life, sound like the testing of the EMERGENCY broadcast system. Does anyone remember those?
As each year passes & I expand my reading, the range of understanding increases & I understand more about my upbringing. More about the upbringing of my parents & grandparents & great grandparents.
The saying: “I brought you into this world & I will take you out of it.” HARD STOP. Pause, ponder, process = more understanding, clarity & empathy.
Pondering why as a Black child growing up, getting a whuppin' (spanking) was not something I heard my non Black friends talk about.
To ponder WHY Black parents, my grandmother, disciplined with an iron fist (leather belt or switch if you are from the South).
So many things I have read & seen in the world, bringing sharply into focus that discipline was based on fear of what could happen—a child being rundown by a mob, beaten or killed. More than fears, because sadly today, those fears are ever present realities.
There are moments of laughter and joy: 'Owed to the Plastic on Your Grandmother's Couch', moments of clarity about the complexity of who we are as individuals in 'Plural.'
Aracelis Girmay says about OWED, “Bennett's genius and love are made plain across each of these shimmering pages.”
Reading 'Elegy for the Modern School' in OWED by Joshua Bennett, made the saying I have heard at different times in my life, sound like the testing of the EMERGENCY broadcast system. Does anyone remember those?
As each year passes & I expand my reading, the range of understanding increases & I understand more about my upbringing. More about the upbringing of my parents & grandparents & great grandparents.
The saying: “I brought you into this world & I will take you out of it.” HARD STOP. Pause, ponder, process = more understanding, clarity & empathy.
Pondering why as a Black child growing up, getting a whuppin' (spanking) was not something I heard my non Black friends talk about.
To ponder WHY Black parents, my grandmother, disciplined with an iron fist (leather belt or switch if you are from the South).
So many things I have read & seen in the world, bringing sharply into focus that discipline was based on fear of what could happen—a child being rundown by a mob, beaten or killed. More than fears, because sadly today, those fears are ever present realities.
There are moments of laughter and joy: 'Owed to the Plastic on Your Grandmother's Couch', moments of clarity about the complexity of who we are as individuals in 'Plural.'
Aracelis Girmay says about OWED, “Bennett's genius and love are made plain across each of these shimmering pages.”
lottie1803's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
jw2869's review against another edition
4.0
I'm committing to reading more of the backlist books that have been on my shelf since the pandemic.
I have heard Joshua Bennett perform spoken word live in Philly and have been wanting to get to his collection. I'm not big on poetry but he has an exceptional ability to create beauty with the mundane and discarded. His poetry is meant to read out loud and hear in the room with you.
Playing on the words "ode" and "owed" Joshua Bennett toys with the notion of inheritance, a generational debt. Who owes what to whom? What does he owe to the denigrated people and places that raised him? What does this country owe Black people?
From the streets that raised him, to the ivy League institutions and surveillance society built to break him and other Black and brown people Joshua shines a light on what is owed, requires repair, and what is still hoped for in the bloody American experiment.
I have heard Joshua Bennett perform spoken word live in Philly and have been wanting to get to his collection. I'm not big on poetry but he has an exceptional ability to create beauty with the mundane and discarded. His poetry is meant to read out loud and hear in the room with you.
Playing on the words "ode" and "owed" Joshua Bennett toys with the notion of inheritance, a generational debt. Who owes what to whom? What does he owe to the denigrated people and places that raised him? What does this country owe Black people?
From the streets that raised him, to the ivy League institutions and surveillance society built to break him and other Black and brown people Joshua shines a light on what is owed, requires repair, and what is still hoped for in the bloody American experiment.
jerrodp's review against another edition
4.0
Do yourself a favor and read the absolute gem, "Owed to your Father's Gold Chain." This collection is damned good but a few really stand out, like the previously mentioned, "Token Sings the Blues", and "The Book of Mycah"
st4r9irl's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
this collection was incredibly powerful and authentic. the prose was breathtaking, with each line resonating deeply. the final poem, “america will be,” reminded me so much of ocean vuong’s work. so intimate, raw, and moving.
he looks at me like the promise of another cosmos & i never know what to tell him.
it took me months to finish this due to the chaos of college life but it was absolutely worth it. though dense at times, the richness of the text made every page rewarding. i really hope to get out of this reading slump soon—so much has changed since i started college and i truly miss reading.