Truly stunning. The truth and creativity and fierceness are suffused with such compassion and joy. This is the closest to sentimental poetry I could ever get. I adored Arroz Poetica, Ode to the Watermelon, Consider the Hands that Write this Letter, Santa Ana of Grocery Carts... honestly and several more. ( )

Girmay's poems are varied and aware, wandering into different territories and balancing smoothly between language-play and observation. In many of them, there's such power that a reader is hard-pressed to not stop, consider, and reread the same poem once again--not because of a lack of clarity, but because there's a drive to re-experience it, and gain some more drops of meaning and emotion. It's true that not every poem lives up to this description--a few are oversoaked in description or expansion--but most of the poems here will be well worth the time for poetry lovers who want their poetry to come with an awareness of the world, and not only self-awareness.

All told, I truly enjoyed this one, and have to recommend it on to anyone who enjoys dipping into contemporary poetry; it's a lovely, thoughtful read, with much to appreciate and consider. ( )