No Matter the Wreckage

I discovered Sarah Kay on YouTube. The passion with which she read her poems was amazing. There was so much energy you could almost feel it bursting forth from the screen. I just had to read this book after that. I thought on paper her poems might seem flat and lack that excitement and passion she had conveyed with ease on screen. Pleasingly that wasn't the case. This collection is vibrant, exciting, bursting with life and energy. I have read poetry books by many young poets, mostly women. On the whole they have been good with a few outstanding poems but I haven't been left feeling a sense of loss at the end or a sense of longing to read more, much more. This collection is different. There are poems about so many different subjects here all carefully constructed and eloquently written. These poems feel modern and fresh. They are most definitely poems for today's generation. Sarah creates poems that make you laugh out loud as well as poems that make you cry. Her words really do resonate on so many different levels. This collection was so much better than I was expecting. Every poem was worthy of its place in the book. There were no poems that felt lame or that didn't hold interest. If you like poets like Rupi Kaur then I feel Sarah Kay will entertain you. For me her poems felt more challenging to read. I just want to read this collection again now and really absorb every poem.

After seeing Sarah's talks on TED I instantly knew i had to read and have her poems to keep on my library shelf. This book did not disappoint. Many of her poems centre around her experiences living in America and there are references to particular subway stations/streets etc but its so well written you could imagine being there. The two poems which stood out to me were B and The Type. I forwarded a snippet onto my friends who's text back was "love it, what the name of the book?" Which gives you a great indication that they will be purchasing Kay very soon! A lovely book of poems to take your time with or like me when you find yourself with a cup of tea in one hand this book should be in the other.

I first heard Sarah reading her poem 'B' on TED.com. I was moved to tears by her words. I have shared the poem with all my friends and so far bought 5 copies of her beautifully illustrated hardback book of the same poem to give a copy to all my friends after they heard her words on the TED video. I have never been so excited to receive a book, it's just arrived through my letterbox.

Some very strong, very emotive poetry

You may have never heard of Sarah Kay or maybe you have watched every performance in every nook and cranny of the internet. Regardless, nothing can prepare you for the poems you haven't read yet, and there are quite a few of them. I leave this book with a feeling of how very under rated she is (despite all the love and fame she garners). Special props to "Dragons".

Beautiful, honest, heartfelt and deep. Loved it

I've recently found Sarah Kay's poetry and a friend recommended this book to me and I would honestly do the same for others. So beautifully written and filled with humour. Couldn't put it down.

I'm not actually much of a spoken word poetry fan, try as I might have over the years to become one. That being said, this is pretty good; I definitely enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. The family/parents based ones are the strongest here, in my opinion. Good read, I dip into it still every now and then, so I clearly liked it overall.

Maravilhoso!

I had been waiting for it for almost a year. Pre orders weren't possible here in India on major online retails. Neither did they do an instant update on bringing it up when it was released. But man when I got on it! It was a beast on his feast. I had been highly dejected when I had bought her 'B', not knowing that it contained just one poem that I had had already listened to in spoken word, and that too for almost 500 bucks(I gifted my mom, on the mother's day). I looked for signs like 'collection of stories' before making my mind to buy it and finally I did , and voila! I wasn't disappointed. I was famished, she writes so fresh, and so effortless is reading her(apart from the time of contemplation and making up the interpretations of poems/ lines that are mystic, obviously). 6/5 from me. I'll tell you how much l liked it - I always sign a book I have bought, with the signature I long to put in my first book(whenever that will be), I didn't in this case, it was too beautiful to be spoiled. Absolutely stunning and quintessential free verses, that literally runs through my veins, and will continue to till I get varicose veins. This book is also special , because she was the first poet I ever listened to. If you are a poet/ a reader or not, just buy it! Worth your limited time on this earth and the ever evading money.

Sarah Kay is a spoken word poet, which means that her poetry is generally presented orally, as opposed to on paper. There are a number of differences between spoken-word poetry and written poetry (that I've picked up on anyways). On a practical level, a poem that is spoken benefits from being presented with the tempo and emphasis that the poet had in mind. It also benefits from hand gestures and the like which enhance the experience. (If you have not seen Sarah Kay perform any of her poems, check her out on YouTube, she's a great performer). There is also a distinction which relates to the poems themselves. Because listeners of spoken-word poetry do not have the benefit of being able to sit and read and reread a poem, the poet is forced to make sure that their metaphors and imagery come through strongly and are not overly obscure. I believe that this latter point is a reason that spoken-word poetry has become popular amongst many people are who are not real poetry fans. The poetry is (when done right) is thought provoking and inspired, while still being accessible. Most of us have had the experience of being forced to read poetry in school, laboring to find the "hidden meaning" that may or may not have been placed there intentionally... (Some survived to read another poem, others were traumatized for life.) Well crafted spoken-word poetry is generally easier to access. Considering this, I was unsure how the poetry would work on paper. On one hand the paper version cannot capture some of the elements that a presentation has to offer. On the other hand I figured that the accessibility of the poems would make for far more enjoyable reading than most poetry books. Ultimately I feel like my expectations were correct. Reading through the poems (to myself and out loud to family members) I found that I could not quite capture all of the magic that Sarah has when she presents her poems. (A number of the poems in the book can be found presented on YouTube, though many are being introduced to the world for the first time here on paper.) On the other hand, the chance to see the poems on paper provided an opportunity to dig into them in a way that listening does not quite offer and even on the poems I had listened to, I noticed components I had not before. Most importantly, the poems themselves are beautifully written, capturing a spectrum of ideas and topics in a really touching, personal fashion. I don't own many poetry books, but in my mind, this is poetry that both an expert on poetry and a casual reader can enjoy. For some I imagine reading the poetry will not compare to watching her present, but I think that that is a limitation of the medium, more than a complaint about the book. For a future book there may be value in considering whether playing with grammar, spacing, font and sizing changes etc. might help guide the reader a little more, but that's a matter of taste.

Awesome poetry, awesome poet. A real must in your bookshelves. Sarah is so talented that her poem stays in the room with you. Each line roars or whispers, but each line is full of sound. A spoken poetry expert like her can make a poetry book speak by itself.

Written so beautifully. Stunning imagery and emotion. Exciting and relaxing all at once.