skitch41's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs
mrsleighmath's review against another edition
3.0
Poetry is not usually my go to, but this was in a subscription box I recieve so I went for it. I didn't dislike it, there were a couple stories/poems that I dog eared for future rereading.
skersh68's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
My first Sonia Sanchez book and I loved it. This book of poems and short stories gave me enough insight into her work that I want to continue reading more from her. I’ve listen to her recite some of her poems and she is very talented. She makes her work come alive. It’s not just words on a page.
makealongstorycourt's review against another edition
4.0
Still trying to get into poetry - would love to revisit this once I get more interested. With that being said, I loved the poetry and short stories in this book. Especially the last section of the book, Grenades Are Not Free. This entire section was written during the historical moment of the early 1980s during the nuclear arms race/Cold War, the Reagan era - the new conservative political climate after the politically-charged decade of the 1970s. However, reading it I felt as if absolutely everything I could translate over to the current neo-nazi, neo-liberalism, alt-right political climate. "Reflections After the June 12th March for Disarmament," "Letter to Dr. Martin Luther King," and "MIA's" are SO AMAZING.
My favorite passage from "MIA's":
"they came that nite to the village.
calling peace. liberty. freedom.
their tongues lassoing us with
circus patriotism
their elbows wrapped in blood paper
they came penises drawn
their white togas covering their
stained glass legs
their thick hands tatooing decay
on los campaneros till their
young legs rolled out from under them
to greet death
they came leaving a tatoo of hunger
over the land." (p. 75)
My favorite passage from "MIA's":
"they came that nite to the village.
calling peace. liberty. freedom.
their tongues lassoing us with
circus patriotism
their elbows wrapped in blood paper
they came penises drawn
their white togas covering their
stained glass legs
their thick hands tatooing decay
on los campaneros till their
young legs rolled out from under them
to greet death
they came leaving a tatoo of hunger
over the land." (p. 75)
stuff4bd's review against another edition
3.0
While I liked a couple of poems overall I just didn’t connect with this
ameenahmcknight's review against another edition
5.0
“
i hear the moon daring
to dance these rooms.
O to become a star.
stars seeking their own mercy
and sigh the quiet, like gods
‘
i hear the moon daring
to dance these rooms.
O to become a star.
stars seeking their own mercy
and sigh the quiet, like gods
‘
gabsalott13's review against another edition
4.0
She's amazingly in tune with her time and surroundings. I felt a part of every poem in this collection, and can't wait to read more by her!