It has to be a gripping description for me to pick up poetry. I am very picky when it comes to spoken word/verse. Usually I stick with the very few I know: Rumi, Rupi Kaur, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes and Nikki Giovanni. However, a blurb from the author is what piqued my interest: "To describe this book, I wrote from the perspective of the black experience. My experience particularly. It's a book about grief, death, rebirth, ancestors, and spirit."
We Find Our Way is Reyna Biddy's latest and third collection of poetry. Themes include love, sacrifice, healing and hope. In just 162 pages, there is a variety of writing styles. Most poems are short yet thought-provoking while a couple are long and lyrical. I found myself pausing to reflect on certain lines. I see why Reyna Biddy is not only a poet but a self-love enthusiast.
"soul work on standby" ~ pg. 11
Right away I noticed that We Find Our Way follows the trendy structure of all lowercase, no punctuation. Sometimes left margin, sometimes center spaced. Some poems made sense but didn't create the urge to dig deeper into thoughts before moving on to the next unrelated poem.
Collections are supposed to flow smoothly from one poem to the next. But the formatting made it seem disjointed with the poems losing interpretation along the way. Perhaps the poems could have resonated with my soul more if the transitions were smoother. I can best describe it as papers falling to the floor then picked up in no particular order and stapled together.
"watch your moods!" ~ pg. 58
Again, I am picky when it comes to poetry so my opinion could be unpopular. The good thing about poetry is that it hits readers differently. We Find Our Way may be worth YOUR reading.
Happy Early Pub Day, Reyna Biddy! We Find Our Way will be available Tuesday, October 25.
Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.
Title: We Find Our Way
Author: Reyna Biddy
Published: October 2022
Pages: 162
Edition: Galley
Genre: Poetry
Rating: 🖤 🖤
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