Poetry – Page 136 – Cannonball Read 17

A journey through identity

Transit by Cameron Awkward-Rich

October 25, 2019 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Transit by Cameron Awkward-Rich is a quick but not an easy read. I read it in basically one sitting, and frankly, I am not truly sure what I read. Or I should say, I do not think I understand most of it. The text is obvious, you know the words, but some poems can be slightly abstract to some readers. There are themes that are repeated to expand on the growth of poet. There are poems about being black, being transgender, the people and the […]

Latina identity and the poet that takes you on a journey through it

peluda by Melissa Lozada-Oliva

October 16, 2019 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

peluda by Melissa Lozada-Oliva is not an easy poetry book to review. Her themes of being a woman and being a Latina woman in America is the entire book. Once you have said that, you have said everything you need to know. My interpretations of most of her poems is that the subjects become repetitive. She mentions her self-consciousness about her body (her excess hair and the issues that come about with waxing all areas a woman is apt to wax; plus, her issues with the […]

One of the Untold stories of World War Two

Under the Broken Sky by Markio Nagai

October 16, 2019 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I was taught that if writers have a negative comment about what they are reviewing, they should start with a positive comment. However, I am going to be a rebel and start with the negative: If I have one complaint about Under the Broken Sky by Markio Nagai it is that the language is too modern. The contemporary voice of the narrator occasionally took me out of the (historical) moment, making me backtrack to get back to Manchuria mid-1940s. Now that is over, the good […]

Just in time for the 120th anniversary of the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing”

Sing a Song: How “Lift Every Voice and Sing: Inspired Generations by Kelly Starling Lyons

October 11, 2019 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Sing a Song: How “Lift Every Voice and Sing: Inspired Generations is a lovely story about how a song written in 1900 to honor Abraham Lincoln, connects the past and present historically. It also shows how this song kept one family strong through much trouble and joy. Kelly Starling Lyons story is sensitive and has spunk. She takes us from 1900 when the song was written and going to be performed by the students of the authors. We see one student practicing whenever she could […]

The other side of the camera

Black Movie by Danez Smith

October 10, 2019 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

All I really can say is that, Black Movie by Danez Smith is not an easy read. Which really is an understatement. It needs to be read slowly and without distractions. And a reread could be helpful. This book, no matter how much you like poetry, will not be for everyone. You might empathize but you probably will not be able to relate to many subjects presented. Again; this is not an easy read. The format of the poems can be awkward. There is literally […]

We would appreciate if you would not….mention the president.

Tiny Journalist by Naomi Shihab Nye

October 10, 2019 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

The title of this collection of poems by the Palestinian-American poet comes from the poet’s first twitter account follow, and the reason for her creating her own twitter handle, Janna Jihad, an (then) eleven year old Palestinian journalist and witness to her people’s oppression at the hands of the Right-led (read here as Netanyahu) Israeli government. The poems then circulate around this tiny observer’s perpsective while also asking leading and damning questions about the exercise of power and oppression on a people. The poems are […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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