poetry – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] Can You Sign My Tentacle? by Brandon O’Brien

A Black woman's (my) hand holds the paperback of Can You Sign My Tentacle up in front of a fancy hotel elevator. The cover depicts an elder God, half human half writhing tentacles, eyes fathomless, purple dreadlocks poppin', holding a sharpie marker in one outstretched, ageless hand.

(Buy this book.) The author of this speculative poetry collection is from Trinidad and Tobago. I’ve never been there, but I imagine that being islands, there are beaches there, with waves that flow across the sand and lap against the rocks in the same way that these poems flow across your eyes and lap againstContinue reading “[REVIEW] Can You Sign My Tentacle? by Brandon O’Brien”

[READING CHALLENGE] Read Some Diverse Poetry

(Click here to skip straight to the booklist.) Y’all, I know it’s late, but the month I’ve had, with all its glorious ups and downs? Bear with me. Anyway, all whining and crowing aside(more about that crowing coming later) November is a great time to read poetry. The year is almost over, our brains areContinue reading “[READING CHALLENGE] Read Some Diverse Poetry”

[REVIEW] Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans

(Click here to buy this book.) I am once again asking publishers, editors, and readers to let Black women write beyond sadness in America. Please? sigh This collection of poetry from a queer Black woman starts strong. It’s put together very well in a technical sense but it all feels kind of by the numbersContinue reading “[REVIEW] Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans”

[REVIEW] Deaf Republic, by Ilya Kaminsky

(Click here to buy this book) So you know that adage, the one that says something like if a book doesn’t grab you in the first few pages then don’t read it, it doesn’t have anything to say or it isn’t well-written? I never pay attention to it. And I’m glad I don’t, because ifContinue reading “[REVIEW] Deaf Republic, by Ilya Kaminsky”

[REVIEW] Engine Empire, by Cathy Park Hong

A black Kindle Paperwhite with a white electronic book cover display, lying on a table in front of a wooden tray containing a half-drunk latte and a half-eaten chunk of cake

(Find it HERE.) The bleached ruin of light lasts and lasts, no night/to repair our miinds, no white clip moon to give us rest. / Only pitiless noon where our sleep-starved consciousness/patters faintly behind our squinted eyelids. ~ Ballad of Tombstone Omaha Have you ever read something and not been exactly sure if it wasContinue reading “[REVIEW] Engine Empire, by Cathy Park Hong”

[BOOKLIST] Indigenous Americans Still Exist!: What I Read for Native American Heritage Month

All year I’ve been reading around themes. In February I read books by Black American authors for Black History Month. In May I read books by Asian and Asian-American authors for Asian-Pacific-Islander Heritage Month. Pride Month had me exploring the words of authors in the LGBTQIA+ community and a little over a month ago, IContinue reading “[BOOKLIST] Indigenous Americans Still Exist!: What I Read for Native American Heritage Month”

[REVIEW] PostColonial Love Poem, Natalie Diaz

(Buy it HERE.) You know the face that jazz and blues musicians make when someone’s playing real good? That stank face, that disbelieving, how is this real, umph-umph–UMPH this is so good it almost hurts face folks get when the art is hitting every bit of your spirit right? You know that face? ⠀⠀ ThatContinue reading “[REVIEW] PostColonial Love Poem, Natalie Diaz”

[REVIEW] A Bastard’s Degree In English, November St. Michael

(Buy it HERE.) 🍁⠀⠀3 things: ⠀⠀1) I haven’t been adulting particularly well lately. Spare a good thought in the direction of this reader when you can. ⠀⠀2) November is Native American Heritage Month and for the rest of the month I’ll be reading and reviewing indigenous writers and their work.⠀⠀3) But before that–what better thingContinue reading “[REVIEW] A Bastard’s Degree In English, November St. Michael”

[REVIEW] For Our Country, Fatemeh Farahani(published as Shahein Farahani)

A tablet sits on a countertop in front of a window. There is a tall purple drink on one side and a plate of green and white rice cakes on the other.

(Download it for free HERE.) Woman’s the soul, and man the body of our countryWith soul and body linked, new life will have returnedto our country… In the landscape of weird that has made up 2020 so far, “Bailey’s is teaming up with The Women’s Prize For Fiction to work for progress in feminist publishing,”Continue reading “[REVIEW] For Our Country, Fatemeh Farahani(published as Shahein Farahani)”

Last Week In Books, August 10th – August 17th: A Literary Ladies Night

This one’s a quickie, fellow readers. Most of the news this week involves literary women doing big things, and they can all speak for themselves. So click, click, click away! British writers are pleading with OfQual to keep poetry in the GCSEs.[The Guardian] The dirty rap song W.A.P. by Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi BContinue reading “Last Week In Books, August 10th – August 17th: A Literary Ladies Night”