I had high hopes for Coffee Days Whiskey Nights because I loved the poet’s collection, Masquerade. I’ve read other poetry collections from the publishers and have found the standard to be really high. I really enjoyed this. The poems take the style I’ve come to accept from modern poetry, short, snappy, social-media esque and very personal. Parker is very similar to other modern poets such as Sin, Leav and Faudet, poets I’ve also enjoyed. I do prefer my poems to be longer and deeper and say more but modern poetry like those to be found here is nice to dip into now and then when I want something a little less intense. I preferred the longer poems as they were richer and had a little more depth. The collection has alternating pages in black and white, I assume to represent days and nights and the print colour alternated as well (i.e. white print on a black page). This served no real purpose as far as I could see and came across as gimmicky.

Coffee Days Whiskey Nights by Cyrus Parker is the author's latest published collection. Parker is a non-binary poet and storyteller, as well as the author of multiple poetry collections, including DROPKICKromance and masquerade.

This book was a special request on my part as it is from Central Avenue Publishers. Their [Dis]Connected Volume One and Two introduced me to several young poets, including Alicia Cook and Yena Sharma Purmasirm. Included in Volume One are poems by Parker. I went back to my earlier copy, and although Parker was not my favorite poet, his work showed promise, and since it had been two years [Dis]Connected had been published, I wanted to see how the poet had grown.

Ironically, Parker's second poem in [Dis]Connected rings true with me concerning his new collection:

the older I get
the harder it to relate
to those around me
-Start - Power - Shut Down

I have developed a taste for poetry after college and graduate school. My preferences seem to fall in line with people my age and older. As I told another poet, "I can read Whitman all day and Byron all night." However, the newest style of poetry to evolve has me at a loss. Short, emotion-filled lines that resemble disembodied rock lyrics from the 1970s doesn't say poetry to me. Granted, the young folks love this type of writing, and I often see or hear, "I don't usually like poetry, but i like this." I think perhaps it is to poetry as texting is to letter writing. Maybe the same tree but indeed a different branch. Despite this style's popularity and lack of a defining name, I can't classify it as poetry in my mind.

"Who am I make that statement?" is also probably a good question. I have a liberal arts degree but chose to work as a mechanic, and Coffee Days Whiskey Nights sounds like a mechanic's creed. I was excited by the title. I liked the longer poems that were over a dozen lines long. I also appreciated the alternating black and white pages with the contrasting print representing days and nights. Some nice touches will attract new readers and Parker will, and should be recognized on the same level as Sin, Leav, and Faudet.

This is where I am torn as a reviewer. My tastes do not include this in the canon of poetry, but professionally will this be a successful book is obviously yes. If you are younger than forty, this is something you'll enjoy. If you are in your fifties, to borrow from Parker, "the older I get/ the harder it is to relate."

This poetry book wasn’t what I expected at all, but I really enjoyed it.
Each poem flowed into the next that had the book feeling more like a book of verse than a collection of poems. The formatting is really clever, but perhaps doesn’t come off as well on an e-reader. I’ll definitely be purchasing this book so I look forward to seeing how it translates onto paper.
The juxtapositions between the feelings felt in morning and night were very powerful.
I suffer with anxiety and depression and found myself really resonating with some of darker sections. The poems where anxiety specifically were mentioned made me feel like I’m not alone in my feelings, as you can sometimes feel you are.
I read it in one sitting and I really liked how it ended uplifting and positive.

I'm still sitting with how this book made me feel. It's an extended monologue, really, that tells of one person's challenges with gender dysphoria, drinking and eating problems and mental health concerns. Mostly (completely without having read anything by Hemingway) it made me feel as though this wrote into the stereotype that is commonly associated with the tortured writer.

Although I felt a lot of this being written under cover of candlelight (that was just the tone of the writing, not necessarily a description) it covered both daytime and nighttime hours. And it did so through writing in different kinds of text to separate them, almost as though the thoughts from differing times of day were separate characters.

I found that there was a lot in here that I related to. I also found that I liked a lot more of the stuff written to describe those dark night of the soul hours.

For me, this was a collection that's pretty nostalgic. It's very self-centric, which I think was a good thing, and it was also a series of thoughts and feelings that I think take most creative people at a particular point in their lives. The reason why it was nostalgic for me was that I remember being in a lot of the places described, though I'm not there anymore.

It's a short collection, which can be read in one sitting. I feel as though there is something to the thoughts and meanderings that sometimes seem disconnected that would have grow in depth upon a second reading.

As always, this author puts together an interesting collection, though I wouldn't necessarily call this one poetry so much as eloquent prose.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I always love Cyrus Parker's work, and was so excited to be able to get an early copy of their latest collection via Netgalley. I really liked the way this collection was put together, with white pages corresponding with mornings, coffee, hope, and optimism, and black pages corresponding with night, whiskey, and feelings of exhaustion. As a writer myself, I found the constant back and forth of these sections really relatable—the relentless hope and drive to create, coupled with constant doubt that your creation will make a difference or that your work and your life will have any meaning at all. I love the way this collection sits with both the dark and the light, and gives a place for all feelings to take shape and breathe while you sit with them—acknowledging them and coming to terms with the light and dark inside of you.

Cyrus Parker balances his daytime and evening thoughts and reflections while striving to focus on the hope that the future brings.

Just. Wow. This poetry is impactful and powerful. I just could not put it down and was blown away. Everyone should read this. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Lovely collection of poems that were devoured in one sitting. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc!

A beautiful, somewhat haunting, and extremely relatable foray into the poetry genre. The contrast of page design as well pulls you in and leaves more of a memory than a more standard fare.

This was not my normal type of book but I loved it. It was quick to read but also makes the reader think about the world and people around them. Some very interesting and thought provoking poems.

“don’t strive for a different version of yourself./strive for a better version of yourself.”

I was so excited to get this email, so thank you to Central Avenue Publishing and Netgalley for granting my wish!

As always, I loved Cyrus Parker’s work. Their poems always feel honest and hit my emotions while I read. I highlighted so many passages while reading. I think everyone who reads this will find at least one poem to relate to. I thought the dichotomy of day/night, light/dark was very interesting and I can’t wait to hold a physical copy and see it in person. (my phone did weird things to the format so I don’t think I got the full effect but I’m excited nonetheless)

The poems in “coffee days whiskey nights” cover topics like body image, mental health, confidence, but also talks about growth and how things can get better even if you don’t feel you’re at your best. Highly recommend for poetry lovers.

First, I highly recommend reading this as a physical copy instead of an ebook. My copy blurred everything into what was essentially one long run on poem, and ended up having to read on my PC. And a big part of the poetry is seeing the contrasting poems, which is hard when you may not know where one poem ends and the next begins.

That said, I really enjoyed this. The poems were deep and meaningful, and written beautifully. It was a bit short, even as poetry books go, but that's better than cramming in poems that don't seem to match the theme the author was going for.

Cyrus Parker’s poetry just hits me in a very particular way. Their poem about being a contradiction felt so very like me. I also really like (feel weird using that word…) the way they describe their gender dysphoria and talk about their skin not fitting them. It’s not exactly how I’d describe my own feelings, but it just feels perfectly written and just hits me in the best way possible.

This poetry book is out of my normal comfort zone, but I really enjoyed it- its relatable, absorbing and a fresh, interesting take on identity as well as finding peace and contentment, which really spoke to me. Will definitely be reading more by Cyrus Parker in future!
Thanks for Net Galley and Central Avenue Publishing for the free ARC of the ebook of this title.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this poetry collection. I liked the fact that the poems were short, so it was a fairly quick read. It was both thought provoking and relatable.

All in all, I found it to be a beautiful and moving collection from Cyrus Parker. I am looking forward to reading more of his work in the future.

Cyrus Parker's poetry is beauty and love and hurt and hope and self loathing put in to words. Words that many of us feel but few could express. This poetry book has a running theme of day vs night and light vs dark, and the contrasts are very well done. The author is also incredibly honest about their struggles with gender and self and this is a good poetry collection for anyone who faces similar struggles. I'll be buying a paper copy of this book when it gets released.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this poetry. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me. I like poetry because it usually is very inspiring, but this did not do much to inspire me.

I saw only today that I got access to this book so thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this book.
I finished it in one go my usual preference for poetry collections.

Cyrus Parker managed to take a concept I was only thinking of yesterday into a beautiful collection that spoke to me like nothing else in quite some time. As a fellow non-binary person the describtions about not feeling home in ones body or the anxiety is too common for me. It was very well done!

I loved the way the book is designed with the black and white pages to further push the night and day image. Overall highly recommend and I am excited to purchase the book when I see it in stores. Thank you Cyrus for writing something so important.

Stars: 3/5

Thank you for a free copy in return for an honest review.

I was able to zoom through this in about 20 minutes and it really freaking hit the nail on the head about how I feel/ felt about my body. I've made a lot of improvements and rather than making me return to such a hard time, I found it somewhat reflective. I forgot where I came from. I now realise my progress and for that, and how much it touched me, I thank Parker and give the stars.

That said, occasionally I didn't understand or I was slightly underwhelmed/ indifferent... which happens - y'know, you have to really connect with a poet to understand their poetry.

RECOMMEND: for those interested in a quick poetry read on body image, self confidence and mental health

WARNINGS: discussion of depressive feelings and body dysmorphia

I thoroughly enjoyed these poems. They were relatable and great. I liked it a lot. I liked the exploration of different topics and all I can say is that this is like a fine cup of coffee on a soft sunny morning. It just works and I’m feeling content and happy after reading it.