I loved his first book so much I was so excited to read this. I think he was able to bring light on some tough issues that need to be addressed and talked about. I didn’t love it as much as his first one, but it was still good.

A solid follow up to the absolutely amazing Helium. Sometimes I feel like the poems are missing the in person performance elements, but overall really well done.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Rudy Francisco delivers yet another masterpiece collection. I loved the structure of it and the concept of working with words that do not exist in the English language. I cannot wait to have the physical copy on my shelf.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There’s something about poetry that, every time I read it, I still take it like feet to cold water, and I spend some time just processing. it’s not that it will change my opinions, only that it can be hard to convert this very raw connection to another’s person’s head into something that someone else can comprehend. So, instead, I’ll end up saying what can be said of any great poetry: This made me feel.

It’s not a terribly original thought, but, for me, that’s what makes it worth the tentative steps. And this book was more than worth it.

It made me feel. Not happy, or sad, or raw, or heard, but a sometimes brutal mix of all these things that make us human. Rudy Francisco’s poems made me understand my feelings better, understand someone else’s story better, and altogether, hopefully, made me better for having read this. I can’t wait to get a physical copy.

(Plus, it gave me new words. New words are awesome 😊)

Wow. This is the best poem collection that I read this year. I loved loved all the poems. The metaphors used are wonderful. Particularly I loved the way the author has talked about his daughter, his wife, his brother. Also, I loved how the author gave us the lesson through water. There's so much to learn from our surroundings. Through some poems the author has spoken the truth so boldly that you will take a few minutes to absorb it. I am going to read all the books by this author. I am so happy that I came across this book.

Rudy has done it again. A couple of years ago, my friend asked me to get him a book, the title was helium. I was curious as to which author can get a gamer to want to read. I read it helium, it was my first poetry book and it set a standard.
With this book I can say his continued to live up to my standards. I wouldn’t say I’m a pro but I have read a large number of poetry books. Enough to know when I find a gem. This book is a gem in form of a beautiful collection of poetry. When your language fails you, create words that describe what you couldn’t express before. I’m in love with his words and I’m definitely going to use them.

"...and the morning shows up again, like it always does— a reminder that each day comes with free refills."

To begin, I am not familiar with the works of Rudy Francisco and this is the first opportunity I have had to read his poetry. I should also mention that I am not a frequent reader of poetry but this collection has led me to wonder why; I have obviously been missing out on an intriguing, thought provoking genre. But maybe it's just Francisco's work that has piqued my interest rather than the broad genre of poetry, we shall see. I have never come across a collection structured as uniquely as I'll Fly Away has been structured... Expanding language, the English language to be precise, to find words for some of our deep rooted thoughts, feelings, occurrences, liberties, and, at times, a lack of those liberties. A look at the human condition through poetry encouraging the reader to open our eyes to the world around us, at current events, the world we are creating, the world being created without us and ponder what our language cannot explain. Most of the poems in this collection invoke the mind to ponder, question and explore while others, frankly, went right over my head (probably my inexperience with poetry). Great collection to keep around and read every now and again
[Thank you NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the free eARC. In this regard; any quotes are from an uncorrected proof and may or may not reflect the text published in the finished edition]

Honestly the best contemporary poetry collection I’ve read this year. I would definitely recommend it to all. I look forward to purchasing my own copy.

I am a long time fan of Rudy Francisco — I regularly listen to his spoken word on YouTube and Apple Music when I’m having a bad day. I own the Helium collection and it’s my favourite poetry collection I own. This new collection — when I get my hands on a physical copy — will be proudly placed right next to Helium. First off, I LOVE the use of a hot air balloon on the cover and how it suits its predecessor so well. I also loved the use of word definitions to start each new section, and how the balloon floats the further we go. However, this book wasn’t just aesthetically pleasing, but the prose was beautiful. I love his poems, particularly the ones relating to race. I enjoyed the last half of the book significantly more than the first (because of the hard hitting poetry on race in America), but my favourite was definitely “Drowning Fish”. My second favourite was To The Black Donald Trump Supporters. My only complaint was the amount of erasures but that’s just a personal preference and not my favourite type of poetry. This collection is amazing — thank you so much for the eARC!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Button Poetry for this eARC

I love Rudy Francisco's poems. I loved his poetry collection Helium. I recommend watching some of his videos where he performs the spoken word poems. Regardless, they are a great read. What I loved especially of this poetry collection is that Francisco introduces words that do not currently exist in the English language, but should. He gives a definition but also provides poems that explain the words are well. In my opinion, these words that do not currently exist in the English language, should exist and with this poetry collection they do.

I loved Helium and couldn’t wait to get my hands on Rudy Francisco’s newest poetry book. It did not disappoint. I loved the organization and theme of words that don’t have a translation in English but should. I loved the combination of depth, humor, feeling, passion, honesty, and timeliness in this poetry. This collection was simply meaningful and beautiful.

Where a world is hidden, but people refuse to see.
Rudy is one of my favorite poets, maybe in the top two. He's a man of a word that has so much beauty and honesty, you refuse to look away.
Today, I refuse to look away. I hope you won't look away, I hope you stare at those words as hard as you can like you will never break the eye contact.
I hope we all keep the lessons closer to our hearts and minds, for this is a magic trick I accept falling to.
I reread so many poems because of how impressing they were. I swallowed them and tried to make them familiar to my tongue, for I want to tell people a small history written by Rudy.
I have always used some of his poems as examples in my class discussions and whenever students clap, I wonder if it's for me or for his words. I hope it's for his words and I hope they will clap more soon because I will pass his message.

I'll Fly Away by Rudy Francisco is a stunning and fresh collection of poems that challenge the very concept of language, and its inadequacy in conveying our shared experiences in an ever changing world. I will be circling back to read Helium, Mr Francisco's prequel to this brilliant collection.

This is poetry that is to be savoured, one delicious word at a time. Creating words that do not currently exist in the English language, but should as a reflection of societal norms, is a concept that certainly provides some food for thought. This is a timely and relevant read, and one that I would return to again and again.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Button Poetry, and Rudy Francisco for the opportunity to read this ARC.