This is a new voice to me when it comes to poetry and I really, really loved it. Pure talent! I highly recomment it.

His words explore about the afro Latino American identity like a indie and aesthetic slam poetry. It was awesome, fantastic, and too deeply specifically with a black mental health, thoughts and grief with dad's death. I really appreciate and I was wondering any feeling thinking themes like white supremacist, colorism into Latin American people, painful moments, and growing up

Roberto Germán's Blue Ink Tears is a must-read for anyone who appreciates the power of words. The poems in this collection are a testament to the author's skill as a writer, capturing the raw emotions and experiences of a young man growing into his identity. The variety of poetic forms used in the book keeps the reader engaged and provides a dynamic reading experience. The bilingual aspect of the collection is a beautiful addition, highlighting the author's cultural background and adding to the richness of the writing. Overall, Blue Ink Tears is a stunning collection that will leave a lasting impression on its readers.

Blue Ink Tears is a bilingual poetry collection that spans over two decades of Roberto Germán's life. Divided into three parts, the poems explore themes of love, relationships, race, identity, and everyday living. Germán uses a variety of poetic forms, including free verse, rhyme, and haiku, to provide relatable and vivid details. The collection offers a rare and introspective view of a Black Dominican-American young man growing into his identity and navigating life as the son of immigrants.

Blue Ink Tears by Roberto German is a collection of poems about being a Dominican American man reflecting on themes of identity, masculinity, love, race, and life lessons. As a bibliotherapist, I am always looking for poems to use in my work with clients especially for my Afro-Latinx youth who are on a journey of embracing and understanding their Black identity in the context of American culture the way Roberto does.

In the poem Mapping My Blackness he writes:

I am Black
father's from Haina
Black as charcoal
mother's from Samana
a porter town
formerly enslaved Americans escaped to
freedom there

I enjoyed how accessible the language in the poems are and the honest way Roberto writes about his journey of becoming.

Among my favorite poems is Lengua, a bilingual poem written in Spanglish that speaks to the complicated nature of thinking in one language and speaking in another.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!