Quote for the Day: September 2nd, 2021

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
Carl Jung

Haiku VIII

Haiku VIII by Fred Slusher

War is nothing but 
a militia of sharp teeth: 
wolves lapping up blood

Thanks as always for being a faithful reader of The Voracious Bibliophile. If you like what you see, please like, comment, follow, and subscribe to my email list to get notified of new posts as soon as they drop. You can also email me at fred.slusher@thevoraciousbibliophile.com or catch me on Twitter and Instagram @voraciousbiblog. Keep reading the world, one page (or pixel) at a time.

Poem for the Day: September 1st, 2021

Vespers by Timothy Liu

So many want to be blessed. 
I only want to kneel in a quiet room. 
To love what we have or not exist 
at all. Nothing to help me sleep. 
Only a scrap of paper slipped 
into my hand: Your body an ocean, 
a song without end. Votive candles 
flickering in the dark that made us 
larger than life: hip-thrust, 
back-arch, mouth-grip, you on top 
till we collapsed in the coiled 
springs that came to rest. A chair 
where you once sat. A bowl of fruit 
neither one of us would touch.

Bonus Graphic

The most resonant part of Vespers for me is the line, “Only a scrap of paper slipped / into my hand: Your body an ocean, a song without end.” So enthralled was I by that particular imagery that I made this little ditty, which I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy (Note: The image is a royalty-free stock image—I have simply added the words to the note in the center):

Quote for the Day: September 1st, 2021

My mother would look at me and she’d say, ‘Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last.’
Kamala Harris

All Aboard the ARC: My Greenhouse: Poetry by Bella Mayo

Review

***Note: I received a free digital review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

Is there anything that burns as bright in embryo or scars as deep in the aftermath as first love?

Is there anything that burns as bright in embryo or scars as deep in the aftermath as first love? I think Bella Mayo, the author of My Greenhouse, would be inclined to answer no. And I would be inclined to agree with her.

As we grow up we become jaded, conveniently forgetting the potency and primacy of the feelings we had when we were young and in love. I don’t believe there’s ever a time a person is more alive than when everything is blossoming for the first time—the first time you feel someone else’s lips on yours as well as the first time someone takes your heart and shreds it like so much dirty confetti.

My Greenhouse leaves no stone unturned and no leaf unfurled, showing that healing after heartbreak is indeed possible—even if you have to dig everything up and plant it somewhere else.

Mayo catalogs all of these feelings and presents them as a blueprint for moving on when the one you thought would never leave decides they can’t stay. My Greenhouse leaves no stone unturned and no leaf unfurled, showing that healing after heartbreak is indeed possible—even if you have to dig everything up and plant it somewhere else.

My Greenhouse: Poetry is due to be released on September 21st by Andrews McMeel Publishing and is now available to preorder wherever books are sold.

Haiku VII

Haiku VII by Fred Slusher

If everything is
nothing, you waltz alone my 
friend, you are the dance

Poem for the Day: August 31st, 2021

Why Bother? by Sean Thomas Dougherty

Because right now, there is                      someone 

out there with 

a wound                                       in the exact shape 

                                                        of your words.

Quote for the Day: August 31st, 2021

Why shouldn’t gay people be allowed to marry? Those against gay marriages say marriage should only be between a man and a woman. God…I of all people know that that doesn’t always work.
Elizabeth Taylor, receiving the Vanguard Award at the GLAAD Media Awards, 2000

All Aboard the ARC: Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things by Amanda Lovelace

Review

***Note: I received a free digital review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

In her newest standalone collection of poetry, Amanda Lovelace makes Persephone of Greek mythology her muse, exploring through her the dualities inherent in femininity as well as the fragmented self that we must all contend with—the self we are with others and the self we are when we’re alone, and the result is nothing short of brilliant.

…Lovelace makes Persephone of Greek mythology her muse, exploring through her the dualities inherent in femininity as well as the fragmented self that we must all contend with—the self we are with others and the self we are when we’re alone, and the result is nothing short of brilliant.

Also tackled herein is the COVID-19 pandemic and the ways it has changed and remade us, from the reasons why wearing a mask is an act of love and respect but also an act of defiance to telling her beloved how close she’ll be able to come to them when the world stops ending. God, that phrase is one I can’t stop turning over and over in my mind. When the world stops ending, when the world stops ending, when the world stops ending….Because isn’t that how it feels right now? As if every day is being lived in survival mode with no end in sight? Thank God we still have poetry to get us through.

Because isn’t that how it feels right now? As if every day is being lived in survival mode with no end in sight? Thank God we still have poetry to get us through.

All in all, Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is a stellar collection sure to please new readers of Lovelace’s work as well as her longtime fans. The gorgeous illustrations by Janaina Medeiros complement Lovelace’s words perfectly, giving them more depth and clarity. I feel safe in saying this is a title I’ll be hand-selling to my customers who enjoy poetry.

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is due to be released on October 5th, 2021 by Andrews McMeel Publishing and is now available to preorder wherever books are sold.

All Aboard the ARC: Dad Bakes by Katie Yamasaki

Review

***Note: I received a free digital review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

Katie Yamasaki has gifted us with a heartwarming story about a devoted father, his beloved daughter, and the delightful activities they enjoy doing together. It’s evident that Yamasaki’s work as a muralist informs and influences her work as a picture book author and illustrator. Her uncluttered, dynamic, and vibrant images leap off the page and drive the narrative forward from the father’s early morning shift at the bakery before the sun rises to the time in late evening when he finally gets to rest.

Dad Bakes is due to be released on September 28th, 2021 by Norton Young Readers and is now available to preorder wherever books are sold.