I like the thematic tone of this collection, though I don't find it particularly clever in its poetic technique.

TW: panic attacks, depression

Actual rating: 3.5

A great, thought-provoking, sometimes heart-wrenching collection of poems.
Deeply appreciated the topics tackled: sexuality, gender, mental health, self-love, family, love in general, politics, religion... The more the merrier, really.

As always, though, poetry is incredibly subjective. So I have to say that I truly adored some poems, but some others did not resonate with me.
Nonetheless, I would recommend this. It was, without a doubt, a touching collection.

Favourite (part of a) poem:
but I want the heavy to anchor me brave, anchor me loving, anchor me in something that will hold me to my word when I tell Cupid I intend to keep walking out
to the tip of his arrow, to bend it back towards myself, to aim for my goodness until the muscle in my chest tears
from the stretch of becoming what I came here to be: a lover
of whatever got covered up by the airbrush,
the truth of me, the beauty of a beast
chewing through the leash
until I got a mason jar full of water lilies
and a kettle full of sea, and my whole life
is a boomerang valentine
coming right back at me.

This is a beautiful collection of poems, some of which I loved, some of which are indifferent to me. The majority of them touch LGBTQ+ topics, as the author belong to the community. I like how they poured a lot of feelings onto some of the poems about identity, being out of the closet and just plainly existing out of the cisheteronormative culture. After all, they are 43 years old and their childhood wasn't as priviliged as today's youths can say, even if there's still a lot to do.

There is also a poem about school shootings which made me ache inside. I cannot believe how children have to be taught what to do in case of a shooting as they happen so often. For a first world country, the US is quite fucked up place to live in, pardon my French.

You should definitely read it!

Raw and honest, powerful and vulnerable, denouncing and giving hope all at once. Absolutely wonderful, I loved every single word in this poetry collection. Thank you, Andrea Gibson. I hope one day I can be as good as you at poetry.

I recommend this poetry collection to people who want to read about real love and real experiences, pain and the journey to (try) healing.

I’ve read quite a few modern poetry books, but this is a first by Andrea Gibson. It was much different than the poetry that I am used to reading as hers actually has depth. It is moving and emotional, and I found myself tearing up a few times during certain poems.

There is a lot covered in this book, from LGBTQIA+ issues to school shootings (so get the tissues ready) and none of this one-line-per-page nonsense that a lot of writers utilize nowadays and call it poetry.

If you’re a fan of poetry and difficult topics, it’s a must read.

The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars? It was too short!

*I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I adore Andrea Gibson’s poetry. My review could very well be a series of emojis: smiles and hearts; tears and claps. That is the sort of touched, awestruck speechlessness that Gibson leaves me feeling. And that is the thing, really: They leave me feeling. This —I think, holding their book— is why we read poetry.

In "Lord of the Butterflies" there is magic worthy of an urban fantasy: gritty, mesmerizing, striking magic. Each poem brims with heartfelt emotions, with realness, but the wording itself is a delight. Often, I find myself shaking my head, studying the imagery with wide-eyed wonder, thinking: “That never in a million years would’ve occurred to me!” Gibson is an excellent writer. This, though, is simply a fantastic, praise worthy plus —specially for someone like me, so in love with figurative language. The real gold, however, is in the thoughts behind the sentences.

Gibson’s subjects are touching, and each touch is different: sharp and cutting, soft and tender; one piece can leave you crying, another grinning like a love-struck fool. But Gibson paces their book, and the transitions are seamless, like the chest raising and falling. Shuffling their poems with delicate mastery, giving the reader space to breath between longer pieces and shorter ones, they write about love, gender, queerness, politics, family and mental illnesses with the same gut-wrenching rawness… In short, this book is beautiful.

That doesn’t mean it’s simple, or easy. There are dizzying poems about Sandy Hook and Pulse in this collection, and they read like the raging cry they are. There are poems about suicide, about its consideration, about grasping desperately to this life. And there are poems about love and all the hurtful ways in which it ends, or it ruins you. And through it all? I felt, and I did so vividly.

What else can I say? I’ll let their words speak for themselves:

“Come tender as the trees
forgiving the books
for asking to be made…”

“When a human dies the soul moves through the universe trying to describe how a body trembles when it’s lost, softens when it’s safe, how a wound would heal given nothing but time. Do you understand? Nothing in space can imagine it… I can’t imagine it, the stars say. Tell us again about goosebumps. Tell us again about pain…”

"Of the twenty children murdered at Sandy Hook,
not one of them needed an ambulance.
That's how dead they were.
That's how well the Second Amendment works…”

“Your name is not a song you will sing under your breath.
Your pronouns haven’t been invented yet.”

I wish I could say I liked this book and its poems, but that was not the case. I appreciate the author speaking about hard themes but I couldn't feel what they were saying, I felt detacched and I couldn't connect with what the author was trying to transmit.

Each time Andrea Gibson appears on my YouTube feed with a new performance of their poems I know I'm in for a delightful experience. So it was quite clear that I would enjoy this book given my already existing fondness of them.

These poems had me almost tearing up on the subway and smiling in understanding late at night when I couldn't sleep and everything was silent save for my mind. There's comfort, pain, bare truths and love to be experienced when reading this book, among others, and by the end you feel both soothed and kindled.

I resonate with Andrea Gibson's words who is an incredible storyteller and conveyer of emotions and ideas, the recipe of great poetry. Which this definitely is.

I didn’t know who Andrea Gibson was when I decided to read this book. I read this collection today and I know that I will be back to it again. Some of the words will take some time to sink in. Although Andrea is known as a spoken word artist, I feel like a lot of the same spirit is captured in their writing.

If words could paint a picture, Andrea Gibson would be the person spray painting the magical mural on the old abandoned brick power plant. You know, that building people want their photo taken in front of because it’s like being transported somewhere that’s … not here.

Pain, change, relationships, family… everything.

How do you review a book of poetry? There are words that standout… poems that will stick with me. “Orlando” is an unflinching look at the horrendous shooting at the Pulse nightclub. It’s a vivid note to us that we are closer to having been there than we acknowledge.

“My yes never fit into the no of this world,” sums up some of the delicious poetry in this collection. This is a book for those of us who don’t fit into the standard mold.

“Ode to the panic attack” is brilliant. I want to keep it in my back pocket like a secret manifesto.

These words are a mixture of dance, politics, ethereal thoughts, gender, hearts, and all the dust-mote-thoughts in the corners of our minds. It’s beautiful and raw.

The way Gibson strings words together reminds me of all the reasons people write.

Read this.

And, if you’re curious about Gibson’s work, check out their YouTube channel. It’s pretty amazing.

Thank you Button Poetry for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Is it possible to get chills reading a poetry collection? Andrea Gibson's Lord of the Butterflies did. The poems centered on mental health, love, pain, loss and queer relationships. It's heartwrenching, raw, emotional and honest. My favorite poem is Orlando. That piece struck me hard woth sadness, anger and pain. An outcry to the innocent victims of the nightclub massacre years ago and the last two verses made me cry:

when this world, drunk
on hate, decides blood
is wine and drinks its fill
in the only place
they ever thought was safe?
in the only place they thought
they didn't have to hide?

in the only place they were wanted
because of who they loved,
and how they loved,
until someome walked through their bodies
and asked who was still alove
and hardly anyone
put their hand up

Lord of the Butterflies is a masterpiece and an eye-opening collection understanding more about the LGBT community. I recommend it to everyone and many thanks to my friend Chesca, for introducing this book to me.

Andrea Gibson's newest collection of poetry is a combination of personal and timely, with an emphasis on LGBTQ experiences in today's culture.

<i> "I couldn't take a compliment
without feeling like a thief,
couldn't believe anything past the first page of me
was worth the read. It was a lie
when I said I couldn't take the long distance.
It was that I didn't want to drive
anything but a getaway car--" </i>

Andrea Gibson has a strong voice and a heart that shines through their poetry. I went through most of the book with a lump in my throat the size of every secret shame, and every ounce of guilt I grew up with for loving the 'wrong' way. Reading these poems felt a lot like going over my own panicked diary had I been a far better, far more honest writer.

I will admit that, due to previous bad experiences with poetry, I went into this book with no expectations. I am happy to say that <b>Lord of the Butterflies </b> gripped me from the very first poem and refused to let go until I found myself reading the last one. I double checked to make sure <i> Acknowledgements </i> wasn't just the name of another poem, disbelieving that I have reached the end so fast.

I keep circling back to certain lines in certain poems in the book, wondering: how did this perfect stranger know to put that feeling into words? And how do I get everyone I know to read this book without having to screaming <i> "Here it is. This is how you understand me!" </i>

I can make this review into something more technical. I can tell you about its themes and topics and the wonderful writing. I want to tell you instead about how it put my heart under a magnifying glass and pointed at all the places where it cracked.

The book said:

<i> “When all the good in you
starts arguing with all the bad in you
about who you really are,
never let the bad in you
make the better case.” </i>

And I thought: this is a book I really want to listen to.

“Lord of the Butterflies” by Andrea Gibson is a collection of poems that deals with a wide variety of issues from deeply personal topics -like mental health and queer relationships- to social issues -such as gun violence and homophobic acts in America-.

There are some very personal stories/poems in here and the rawness they bring with them makes this read even better. Also, the messages that were conveyed were mostly incredibly powerful and, to some extent, even necessary. (one of my favourites was the “Orlando” poem)

That being said, some of the techniques that were used did not really work for me. The pacing and the way the poems were structured made it harder to read, which in turn made the impact of some of them decrease.

However, after finishing the book i learned that Gibson is known for their slam poetry and that made everything clearer. In my opinion, some of the poems did not translate well into written work but that does not make them bad. I remember writing down “would love to hear a live reading of some of these poems from the author” while taking notes about the book, and now i know why i felt like that. And i still feel the same: hearing a live reading would be astonishing!

And a note about the physical aspect of the book: the cover art is stunning!

This was my first Andrea Gibson and it will not be my last. I devoured this in less than 2 hours! It was amazing, sad, raw, pure, funny, and truthful. Wow! Would recommend this to anyone. Plentiful trigger warnings to all.

it's so F*** beautiful, I want to read everything from her!!!
she really knows her way with words, If you want to read something beautiful that is actually gonna make you think, please pick this up, you will not regret it.

A beautiful collection of poetry. It did everything poetry is supposed to do - speak to the heart, make you think, and make you want to share it with those who you love.

There is no doubt that this poet has talent. She has the ability to transport you into her world, actually into her mind. The mind of herself as a teenager struggling with the identity issues of who am I? What makes her tick? What has she been searching for? and what about her own identity and sexuality? This collection was very well put together. It's also a quick read, as one poem flows into the next.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Button Poetry for the ARC of #LordOfTheButterflies

I am not one who often reads poetry, but in a spurt of curiosity, I decided to give this collection a read.

Goodness, am I glad I did.

This collection of poems was heartwrenchingly beautiful and brutally honest all at once. I found a number of poems to be very relatable and thought-provoking in their message, and especially appreciated that the writings were done from an LGBT+ perspective.
A few of the poems were political in nature and thus deeply uncomfortable and painful to read, but that was the point of them - such feelings *should* be evoked with mention of the particular topics being addressed.

There were a few poems that fell short for me though, as I felt I could not relate to them at all, but these were few.
It is my understanding that these originated as spoken-word poems, and I do feel some of the impact was lost without that element, however -
I did enjoy this collection overall, and it is absolutely worth the read.

This book is an honest reflection of America through queer eyes. Andrea Gibson became one of my favourite poets after this. From a heartbreaking poem about the massacre in Pulse, Orlando to the so many other shootings in schools, the current political situation or simply what it means to be happy, this book is able to touch something in us in every poem.

Lord of the Butterflies by Andrea Gibson is a book of poetry that is intimately and stunningly beautiful. I don’t typically read poetry and had actually never heard of this poet before but felt so profoundly connected to Gibson and the writing style. Thank you @andrewgibby for sharing a piece of yourself with us.

Thank you @netgalley and @buttonpoetry for the copy of this book. It is currently available!