Review: Ordinary Beast

Ordinary Beast by Nicole Sealey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I requested a review copy of this from Edelweiss before I saw it on NPR's Poetry to Pay Attention To in 2017 list, but they weren't wrong.

Nicole Sealy has the ability to embody the pain of others, and empathy and shared anger or sadness fill many of these poems. A great example is Virginia is for Lovers , about the "house in Virginia."

I also resonated with "a violence," about the lack of maternal drive among other things (read and listen on The New Yorker); and felt the emotions behind "hysterical strength," about how much strength people of color, specifically black people, must have just to exist.

From the wordplay perspective, I also really loved "and" with all the words that have "and" inside of them.

Thanks to the publisher through Edelweiss. This comes out in September!

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