Very beautiful and moving poems. I think this would make a great addition to anyone's shelf and is a perfect gateway into poetry on a whole. Looking forward to reading more of Morin's work!

This collection exerted a push-and-pull on my attention that was almost as disconcerting as it was thrilling. Morín is a Texas-based poet who presents us with “a variety of ways to endure life when there's an invisible hand at your throat.” Pop culture runs through the collection, providing a sugary kiss to almost sooth the bite of poems about police brutality, racism and colonialism. Moving back-and-forth between poems like Whiteface (a guide to managing police violence) and Duct Tape (everyday life, told from the POV of a roll of sellotape) created a whiplash effect that can make it difficult to appreciate the collection as a whole. While individual poems stick in the mind, as a collection it’s too discordant to be truly enjoyable.

A lovely book of poetry.

There was a wide range of poems represented and while it certainly was a unified collection, it was also a breath of fresh air from books that are rigid in what poems are collected. That being said, the poems certainly are enlivened & taken to new heights by virtue of being near one another.

"A Pile of Fish" was probably my favorite from this collection.

Excellent collection that succeeds not only according to its frequent thematic heft, but through Morin's excellent facility with image-making. One of the surprise best collections of the year.

I really enjoyed this collection - the reflections on parenthood particularly struck me (it made a great companion read with Dear Son by Thomas Mayor). I found myself thinking a lot about Clint Smith’s poetry while reading too, perhaps more subject matter wise than stylistically. Well worth checking out if you’re a poetry fan!

3.5 stars

This collection was really beautiful and insightful. The pieces focused on identity, facing adversity (putting it mildly), and a true sense of community and belonging. For the most part I really loved the poems with the exception of the historical based ones, those didn’t work for me and had me skimming and quickly moving on to the next one.

ARC given by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I ate this up and stayed up in bed reading it start to finish. This was my first Tomás Q. Morín and I am now a forever fan. I loved how Morin experimented with form. The poems were so self-aware of the writing process, often breaking the fourth wall in a way that made it feel like I was reading a journal entry. Machete was the perfect title. This collection cuts and cuts and cuts.

What really kicked this up to a five star review for me was the effortless warmth and humor. I don't feel like many poets are able to pull off humor, but god, it makes reading it so much more fun.

This poetry collection is a wonderful exploration of identity, of belonging, of life through hardship. It's evidently personal to the poet and delves a lot into life; how it changes, how it is affected by outer circumstances. This collection explores topics that often feel difficult to discuss. As a reader, I was captivated not only by the poetry, but by the cover representing a being that can stand for both life and death, ferocity, but also, because of its pattern, a sort of oddness.

Perhaps the only thing is that I wish there was more fluidity throughout the collection. I found myself disconnected from some poems and fully invested in others. Either way, the collection was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it.

I’m going to be honest with you. When I first started reading Morín’s forthcoming collection Machete, I didn’t think I was going to like it—and then it snuck up on me. Pretty soon, I couldn’t stop drinking in words, even when they were sharper than a mouth full of knives. Machete is one of those collections poised to become era-defining, and I think if we somehow make it past climate change and the threat of nuclear proliferation we’ll remember it as one of the essential works of the pandemic. With its tonal shifts, manic ebullience, and hyper focus on finding the sublime in the quotidian, it is the perfect read for a world that has been forced to stand still even while it’s on fire. I can’t wait to put it in people’s hands.

Machete: Poems is due to be released on October 12th of this year and is now available to preorder wherever books are sold.

I like the main themes present throughout the book. There were many parts of the book that refer to people or events that I am not familiar with. That made it a little hard to understand the meanings or messages but the book had some really touching poems

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC!

I really enjoyed the message of these poems.
112th Congress Blues was one of many that blew me away.
I liked the length of the poems. The writing was really well done. It hit hard.
I wish the poems were a tad more fluid, though.
Highly recommend for all poetry lovers.

This was a great collection of poetry. One of the themes for the collection was culture. I also loved that there were references to other poets and other influential people. I really liked that Tomás Morín included a Notes section at the end of the book with information on what inspired him to write each poem.

Rating: 3.5 stars

I feel like I really enjoyed certain poems like “Machete” “New Years Eve” “Duck Tape” and “Sartana and Machete in Outer Space” but their were others that I found I just couldn’t connect with easily (or maybe the word should be understand as sometimes they were random and ramble-y). For example, “A Sigh” and “112th Congress Blues” were maybe trying to incorporate historical figures, sayings, classic symbols, and so on but it just seemed like too much and lost its message somewhere in between. If the book had more poems that were of a similar style and theme I feel like some might have resonated more.

This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

This collection of poems was an absolute wonder to read. I enjoyed the rhythm of the pieces, especially the last one! There were several poems that stuck with me, including the one for which this collection is named. The pacing and phrasing were absolutely brilliant. Overall, this was a quite enjoyable read!

Thank you again to NetGalley and to the publisher for the eARC!

This collection wasn't super memorable for me personally, as the poet's writing style just didn't resonate with me. I did appreciate the cultural commentary since Morin's pieces address serious injustices such as racism and prejudice.