I just don't think that I am able to give this book the justice that it deserves. While I am not familiar with reading books of poetry, I will say that I enjoyed this much more than I expected.

My thanks to Netgalley and Atria for this advanced readers copy.

Alice Walker's latest collection of poems written mainly in 2015-2016, while full of sadness and anger, contains unwavering hope. Compiled here are many powerful tributes to people she has admired and respected in her lifetime; including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and B. B. King. She laments over war, hatred, and poverty while managing to take these arrows out of her heart to speak of hope over hurt.
Reading these poems slowly over a period of four days, I could feel Walker looking back over her life, reminiscing on the events that shaped her and the events that she herself helped to shape; grieving the loss of people she has cared for; voicing her frustration over the struggle of history repeating itself.
A passionate plea to readers to acknowledge the current state of loss and despair across the globe, Walker uses her poems as a type of intervention; a way to show us that we are not alone in our confusion, guilt, or suffering.
Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart is a bold and powerful collection of poems from an inspiring revolutionary of the written word.

Alice Walker provides readers a much needed meditation on issues past and current, with wisdom and insight galore!

I am a huge fan of the sage, Alice Walker. This poetry collection explores a lot more of the dark side of the world and pays homage to many people that she has met and interacted with over the years (many of whom are famous). Although it is brilliant, there is a certain joy that I come to expect from her poetry that I found to be missing in this collection.