This is not an easy read. I read it in small bits and really savouring every word. It's a thought provoking collection and I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Poeta by Pelumi Olatinpo is a vast collection showcasing Olatinpo's poetic form 'soneta' - a hybrid form marrying the restriction of a sonnet with the musicality and emotion of a sonata (which is pretty much the origin of the sonnet form...) So perhaps that begins my issues with this collection, sometimes the poet seemed very unaware of literary heritage, from calling the monster Frankenstein, to coining soneta with the same explanation of why the sonnet is called a sonnet in the first place. The collection also lacks coherency and consistency. Olatinpo writes fervently and well about Gaza and Black American experience, only for these poems to be lost in the milieu of sudden love poetry. The collection very much reads like experiencing whiplash. Despite being sectioned into six chapters, these chapters felt repetitive and incoherent in regards to how the poems were chosen, ordered and how they related to the chapter's title.

All of which is a shame, because Olatinpo is talented; particularly with rhythm and restriction and writing about raw and global events. There just lacks a sense of conscious crafting, as if everything ever written was included, rather than taking a step back and ensuring each poem was given room to breathe and speak for itself. As it stands, the poems merge quickly into one another due to repetitive messages, images, and a lack of memorability due to the poor structuring overall.

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC. I love the premise of Poets, and the elevating experience this brings to poetry and poetry lovers

The book is deep, meaningful, and a treat if poetry and sonnets are your jam.

First all, I love the introduction and the way the author introduces the reader to the Soneta and Sonnet Form and doesn't make the automatic assumption that every reader is familiar with the form. There are various readers and lovers of poems who may be introduced to it for the first time; thus, I love that the author included it. Such introductions are great for young readers, especially elementary students who struggle with poetry and the concept of it and writing it.

Next, I love the images inside this book; they are beautiful and directly connects to the poetry. I also love the way the book is structured with the images before each new part. And lastly, the words in the book are powerful and directly speak to today's time. There is love, pain, suffering, loss, passion, rage, strength, hope and faith, all weaved through this lyrical poem. The poetry makes you listen, reminds you with eyes wide open, challenges and calls out what should be seen and heard. It's lyrical, evocative, and pivotally challenges what's unspoken, ignored and pacified.

The poetry captures your attention and is thought provoking!

Devastating and beautiful. Love and loss are completely tangled up in this one. Deep, heartbreaking, and powerful.

My favorite poem was Soneta 17. The last two lines really spoke to me.
“At the wharf of your heart, battered, tossed, reeking of
Loss, yet, your love, covers me, asks me — to exhale.”

Incredible lines.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC!

The imagery in this collection is both powerful and beautiful.
A very well written and beautiful book
Evocative and lyrical and will gain a space on my shelf for sure