Swallowtail, a collection of poems by Brenna Twohy, delves deeply into the topics of loss and grief. I found the poems to be not only quite profound, but highly accessible, and I was pulled into a stream of consciousness from which I could not look away. I anxiously anticipate reading more of Ms Twohy's work. Hers is a fresh, relevant voice that needs to be heard.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Button Poetry for this ARC.

Surprise, surprise, another collection from Button Poetry that I absolutely adore. As many of you know, I’m a poetry geek, especially about spoken word poetry, and when it comes to spoken word, Button Poetry has some of the best talent out there. Frankly, if there’s a Button book on NetGalley, the odds are pretty high that I’m going to insist on reading it, and Swallowtail certainly did not disappoint. In her debut collection, Brenna Twohy examines topics including abusive relationships, trauma, suicide, femininity, love (or lack thereof), and healing, using metaphors ranging from the traditional (e.g. fruit) to the incredibly contemporary (e.g. Harry Potter). Her language is highly readable–seriously, I finished this entire collection in one sitting, on my lunch break–which makes me think that (a) these pieces would all be fantastic as spoken word/performance pieces, and (b) this collection will appeal to fans of contemporary poetry in general, as well as those who generally don’t like poetry because they find it “too stuffy” or “not relatable.”

As is often the case with collections, be they of short stories, poems, or some other third thing, there will be some weak links. Though the majority of her poems are incisive, with lyrical precision, especially those about her brother’s suicide, and some are brilliantly clever in their links between pop culture and deep personal reality, such as the discussion of trauma in “Draco Malfoy Looks Into the Mirror of Erised,” there are a few that veer too far into the realm of cliches and generalities. Most of these weaker ones are those that are specifically linked to a traumatic past relationship of hers, and this is understandable–grappling with a hard topic is sometimes easier in the abstract, but in this case, that meant gravitating toward less-than-original imagery or poems that seek to capture too many thoughts at once and end up less impactful.

That said, this was overall a fantastic chapbook, one I would like to reread sometime soon just to more fully absorb its contents. It is unafraid of confronting difficult subjects, and it does so with just the right mix of fragile delicacy and blunt intensity. If you are not big on non-classical poetry (and I know there are plenty of you out there), this is not likely to change your mind, but for those of you who do enjoy poetry of a more contemporary variety–especially if you are interested in the topics this collection deals with–I would definitely recommend giving this one a read. I can’t wait to read–and watch–what Twohy writes in the future.

A version of this review that also contains quotes from the chapbook can be found on my blog here: https://therealkspecks.wordpress.com/2019/12/05/swallowtail-review/

TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNINGS: suicide, abuse, anxiety/panic attacks

“grief is not a feeling
but a neighborhood.

this is where I come from.
everyone I love still lives there.”

I absolutely loved this new feminist poetry book that deals with topics like mental illness, sexual assault and loss. Twohy is utterly raw, honest and real in poems that are beautifully crafted. Finally, after reading so much Instagram Lite poetry lately, I am so glad to have found poetry that makes me feel and think and want to read lines of it to my husband and grown kids (who are all poets and poetry lovers too). Lines like I will never again not know the sound of my mother breaking deal with the death of her brother heartbreakingly well, while lines like how it was the gentlest of guttings tell of the pain of abuse and toxic relationships with loves that are hard to quit and harder to recover from.

An excerpt from WHEN THE CRAZY CAME BACK

this body knows fear like a front porch
knows welcome--it is always coming home.

& you cannot pull the crazy out of me
the way you cannot put a flower back to bed,

but this body knows withstand, knows
what the morning looks like when she says stay.

Twohy is a bit of a modern Anne Sexton or Sylvia Plath, writing woman-centered poetry that deals with topics like mental illness and brutal self reflection, but with 21st century references to Harry Potter, Xanax and Facebook. Don't pick it up if you want cheerful, rhyming or easy poems.

I'll be buying a copy of this one. This is by far my favorite book of poems in quite a long time.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

"How reckless, the way that I love/ like the first chapter of a ghost story./ Like the gentlest hand/ reaching out of a grave"

Brenna Twohy's Swallowtail is a dynamic collection of poetry, unlike any others I've read. The poems included are powerful, every line expresses something powerful and magnificently human. After I read each poem, I have to just repeat a couple of lines to myself because they're just so good.

I've followed Brenna Twohy for years, since about 2015 when I first encountered her poem "In Which I Do Not Fear Harvey Dent," which is included in this book. I had never before heard a poet with such a strong voice and such hard-hitting lines. She was an instant favorite, and I've followed her across social media ever since.

It's really wonderful to see her poems in print, and Swallowtail includes some of her best, "Draco Malfoy Looks Into the Mirror of Erised," "Anxiety: A Ghost Story," and "That Awful Month I Can Only Write Poems About Leaving, And/Or About Limp Bizkit" are some of my favorites. That said, like every poetry collection, there are hits and misses. Most are hits, but some poems can become repetitive in form. In these groups of poems with similar forms, one or two end up shining brighter than the others.

I enjoyed this collection immensely, and the poems that shine bright are absolutely brilliant.

There are poems that grasp your darkness...and give a name to the feelings that you so struggle with. I wish I could say so of this collection without coming off as a major fan of collections by Button Poetry.
This collection right here reminded me of the things I wish to shame and name, about rape, about fear, loneliness, betrayal, anger, love and dreams.

This is a must-read.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

Cute little books of poetry. I absolutely love poems. This book had a lot of poems that I enjoyed but then again I enjoy every book I read from button poetry

This was an excellent poetry collection that was really thematically interwoven without being redundant or repetitive. The author did an excellent job of succinctly but eloquently relating her life struggles to her readers. More often than not, poetry enters into the grandiose while Swallowtail remained grounded. I highly recommend this book as well as this author!

I was recently introduced to Brenna’s work from a YA author, Sarah Nicole Lemon, and I instantly dove down the rabbit hole to find every video and piece of writing of hers I could. I went to my local indie bookstore to see if they had any of her books, or could order them, and was sadly told that they couldn’t order them because of the publishing company her collections were with. So....I was ECSTATIC when I saw this book on netgalley. Brenna’s great and I’ve already recommended her work to my 62 year old mother and my 24 year old sister!

Swallowtail is a short, potent volume of poetry by Brenna Twohy, who comes out of the scene in Portland, Oregon and is finishing law school. An overall strong debut, Twohy's poetry is like a bracing, but refreshing, step into the first winter air. I wasn't expecting it, but god, does it feel good.

Read the rest of the review at my site:
https://midnightvosswriting.blogspot.com/2019/11/poetry-reviews-swallowtail.html

I enjoyed this book of poems. They were intense and enjoyable. Done seemed very personal, but they were enjoyable none the less.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This was nice. I read it on Kindle so I'm positive I didn't read it the way it was meant to be read, formatting wise but I enjoyed it all the same. The poems were longer than I expected, or at least longer than the ones I've read recently which was nice for a change.

Swallowtail spoke of grief, abuse, a lot of pop culture references and mental health. Some of these were really powerful and actually very raw and unapologetic.

when I say I forgive you
know this
I did not bury the hatchet.
I have the hatchet in my hands.
I am building a new house.

Good stuff.

[ I received a copy on Netgalley in return for an honest review. ]

'Swallowtail' is a poetry book that explores the challenges of grief, trauma and mental health through popular culture and the author's own personal experiences.

"To love me / is to love a haunted house. / It's fun to visit once a year, / but no one wants to live there."

There were many powerful poems, just like the one above, through out the book and what I enjoyed most about them was the fact that they weren't excessively flowery and were instead straight to the point. It helped to grab my attention, and keep it there.

The author often included references to popular culture like "Harry Potter" and "Batman", and I think that helped to give me a better understanding of the poems as a whole. They also gave a different interpretation into how these other characters may have been feeling at the time (for example, Neville Longbottom in Harry Potter), and I found that really interesting.

Although I couldn't necessarily relate to everything that the author covers through out the book, I still found it to be an enjoyable, quick read and I would love to check out more of Brenna Twohy's works in the future!

Would definitely recommend!

Rating: 3.5 / 5

I have been watching Brenna Twohy read her poetry on Button Poetry for years now. I was excited to read this collection, and it did not disappoint. Twohy can turn a beautiful phrase, even while writing about grim topics. Many of these poems are about trauma and profound loneliness. It is deeply personal. On both a positive and negative, I think these are poems that are meant to be read aloud. I wasn't always convinced by the line spacing choices, but Twohy always pulled me back in with the raw emotion. I would recommend this collection to those who are already familiar with Twohy's work or those who are fans of the style of spoken word often featured on Button Poetry.

My favorite was "The guy in the back of the room" and they kept getting better from there. The poems have a good flow from one to the next. However, be wary of many triggers. Great short poetry book. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

"grief is not a feeling
but a neighborhood.

this is where I come from.
everyone still lives there."

This collection of poetry tells a few beautiful and heartbreaking stories of loss. Loss of love, loss of family, loss of self. I'm blown away. From the first line of the first poem, Brenna Twohy's grief is evident. She doesn't shy away from it but instead lays it all out there. This is the best collection of poetry I've read in 2019.

Every time I read a poetry collection I'm reminded of why I don't read poetry collections. They're all practically the same thing these days. They're also so personal it's hard to relate sometimes. I always like a handful of poems and the rest are just whatever. There's nothing really wrong with this collection. It just feels like more of the same to me.

I first came across Brenna Twohy's poetry a ⁣
few months ago on the @buttonpoetry Facebook page. I was impressed and did a quick search for her book at my library, but couldn't find anything. Fast forward a few weeks and I stumbled on Swallowtail while browsing NetGalley! Released in October, this poetry collection hit home for me from the very first words:⁣
⁣
WHEN I SAY I FORGIVE YOU, KNOW THIS:⁣
I did not bury the hatchet.⁣
I have the hatchet in my hand.⁣
I am building myself a new house.⁣
⁣
Twohy lays herself bare in her poems with skin prickling vulnerability, her writing style a testament to the idea that sadness and love and fear and grief and healing and mental illness and strength and humor and pop culture can (and do) co-exist. I was reminded of @fransbookshops's interview with Max Porter where he said, "Life is very funny and life is very sad, and those two things aren't separate."⁣
⁣
Basically, I loved this book and can't wait to get my hands on whatever Twohy writes next.⁣
⁣
TW: sexual assault, abuse, suicide⁣
⁣

Impressive and powerful right from the first page, this is one of those rare modern poetry books that stands out on its own merit.

WHEN I SAY I FORGIVE YOU,
KNOW THIS
I did not bury the hatchet.
I have the hatchet in my hands.
I am building a new house.

I enjoyed this book, whose poems talk about grief, loss, trauma, abusive relationships, mental health, survival and more. I also loved the pop culture references e.g. Harry Potter and Batman. The Neville Longbottom one really stuck to me because it gave unique insight and a different perspective to popular opinion.

The execution and writing style are also commendable e.g. being subtle and ambivalent without being bizarre / spiteful / flowery for the sake of it. I'm not sure how to put it exactly but I just love how the author can say so much in so few words.

I will definitely be checking out the author's other works.

Brenna Twohy never disappoints. In Swallowtail, she explores past abusive relationships, grieving her brother’s death, and mental illness. I will definitely be picking up a copy of this one and recommend it to all who enjoy modern poetry.