So, Stranger
by Topaz Winters
Pub Date 17 May 2022
Button Poetry, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles
Biographies & Memoirs | Multicultural Interest | Poetry





I am reviewing a copy of So, Stranger through Button Publishers, Independent Book Publishers Association and Netgalley:



So, Stranger is Topaz Winters third collection of poetry, it spans three countries and three generations. It is a far-reaching & deftly-woven series of ars poeticas, Winters questions the boundary between the things we inherit & those we owe, stands at the grave of the American dream, & unspools the enormous grace & guilt of being loved.



Topaz Winters So, Stranger stands a mark between the shifting histories & futures of being a daughter, being an artist, & being an immigrant. The reader begins as a stranger but by the end of the book, feels like a friend.




I give So, Stranger five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

I can’t describe how much I loved this poetry collection.

Every inch of this collection is a story: some I understood and some I didn’t. I loved not understanding, though, because that means there’s more to learn and discover. I don’t want every story to be familiar.

It was so good that I want to buy the physical copy so I can go back and annotate. Some of my favorite quotes have been born here in this book.

SO MUCH LOVE.

Unfortunately, I am unable to provide immediate feedback as this title is not currently available for Kindle viewing. I very much look forward to reading and reviewing this collection in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for approving my request to view this title.

~So, Stranger~ by Topaz Winters, pub date May 17, 2022

5/5 stars
Poetry, Memoir, Multicultural

"Make no mistake: this is not a story about fullness, it is a story about starvation. / We are so hungry we are bloody. So hungry we are frantic. So hungry / we may never eat again"

The thing I love most about poetry is how it is pretty to look at yet dangerously powerful to read and understand. Topaz Winters takes the purest and darkest human emotions and pours it raw onto the page, She writes from the perspective of "the daughter"; a third generation immigrant's journey of self discovery, resentment, forgiveness, her relationship with their parents, and their bittersweet connection to the generations before her.

"my rage is the spitting image of my father's, but unlike him / I have no right to it."

The poems speak for the immigrant experience, especially the third generation. However, their words will resonate with anybody suspended in that strange and confusing place between timelines and cultures- anyone who feels displaced in their own life. It's about being born into the world wearing the skin of your ancestors who have suffered before you, but feeling like you don't deserve the rage and strife that comes with it. After all, you're doing much better than they ever could, aren't you?

"America says I am disappointed in you & I say join the damn club"

It's always easy to feel unheard and insignificant when you don't check all the boxes of the "perfect American citizen". Topaz Winters write about the life of a woman, a person of color, and someone on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum- all perspectives that are seriously lacking in all genres of literature and therefore cherished by people who identify in the same way.

"Dimples. Seizures. Daytime. / What we inherit. What / we owe."

Structurally, the poems are broken into six subsections, or arcs poetica. I loved how the individual poems switched styles, from 2 line stanzas to large chunks of text to paragraphs with deliberate spaces between phrases. All the poems are brief, 1 1/2 page max, which makes for a quick read and easy rereads of particular sections. I read it in almost one sitting, and I hope to purchase a physical copy when it is released!

Thank you to NetGalley and Button Publishers for the chance to read and review this story :)

#SoStranger #NetGalley

‘So, stranger’ takes the reader on a path of self discovery and recovery. The poet is simple and clear and creates an accessible narrative of the twists and turns of third generation immigrant life. A highly suggestible collection for new poetry lovers.

I don't know if I can put in words how beautiful this book is. I feel like nothing I say will do it justice. It's way more important than just a book I will rate and then put on the shelf. These were honestly some of the greatest verses I've ever read and it's not even about the beauty of the expression, but the beauty of the emotions the author wasn't afraid to show. To display those emotions so beautifully is not just talent, but an unimaginable strength.

So, Stranger is a collection of poems by Topaz Winters that dives into self-discovery, love, family, and identity. Sadly, I didn't connect to a single poem in this book, however I can’t deny the level of care and emotion that went into each piece. You can tell that Winters wrote from the heart and that every single word comes from an authentic place. I look forward to reviewing other works from Winters in hopes that I'll find a connection there. Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was poems was okay. The poems were well written and everything but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I tried to get into them and like them but I just couldn’t.

Ever since I read Topaz Winters's last book, I've been searching her name on Netgalley every few weeks to see if she had a new one coming out. I was so excited to read this, and in no way did it disappoint. The poems in this collection are gorgeous, honest, and absolutely gutting. Right from the beginning I was hooked, and I stayed that way throughout the whole book. The poems about her parents especially got to me, and I love how much she does around names and time and traveling. After finishing this, I feel hurt in the best possible way.

Thank you to Netgalley and Button Poetry for the chance to read and review this ARC.

I couldn't relate to this book at all. It made no sense to me on any level. At times it felt like it wasn't even in English. Do not recommend.

I really enjoyed reading this collection of poetry. Each poem felt very personal and were emotional. One of my favorite poems on the collection is called “On the First Day of Planting, My Grandmother Becomes Her Garden”.

What a beautiful, poignant series of pictures, glimpses into a life juggling the imbalance of conflicting identities.
Many passages are so well crafted I had to take a moment to think or read them a few times to really absorb their full meaning.

I recommend because:
- queer poetry!
- Winters' poetry feels very real and is accessible
- incredible one-liners that will make you stare at the wall and blink many times while you process what you just read


Thank you NetGalley and Button Poetry for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of So, Stranger.

This excellent poetry collection contains one powerful poem after the other. Taken together, the collection has the feel of memoir. The writing is beautiful--if you like the way words and how they are put together, this has much to offer. Here's just one example--the end of the very first poem in the book, titled Departure Time, which recounts an episode in an airport after a relationship has ended unhappily. There is a possible moment of connection with another woman when she is heard crying in a bathroom stall.
Like a game of hide&seek with both of us
waiting to be found--I can't help but think
that together on the same plane the weight
of her distance&mine could bring down
the whole sky.

The poems contained in this book deal with themes of immigration, assimilation, intergenerational family relationships, romantic relationships, and self-discovery. I highly recommend this book.

A beautifully written collection of poetry, which is deeply personal and emotional. I adored each and every poem and will definitely read it again.

I received an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. thank you to the publisher and Netgalley!

This poetry collection was raw, vulnerable and a kaleidoscope of heartwrenching prose. Winters has crafted a poetry collection that rips open the seams of the American Dream and tells their experiences of being the child of immigrants. Each poem weaved together so beautifully and there were so many lines that tugged at my heart and really stuck with me after reading. It is one of those collections that you will think of long after you had closed the pages. I thought this collection was absolutely amazing, I was completely sucked in from the very first poem and I can't wait to read more of this author's works.

So, Stranger stands as a fixed mark between the shifting histories & futures of being a daughter, being an artist, & being an immigrant. If its reader begins as a stranger, they end as part of a lineage: one both of grief & glory, of distance & arrival

The narrative and prose poetries in this collection are beautiful, telling rich, lovely stories. Each story is framed and told differently, but they weave together to create something beautiful, raw, and open. This is one of those poetry books that you read and immediately have to find the rest of the author's work. I received a copy through Netgalley.

"in this world i am never so lonely that
i laugh just to have something
to wrap my hands around

in this world i am no longer a list of
unasked questions & the answer to each
is no longer the word blasphemy in
this world when the parts of me that
are not made of water beg for mercy

i spare them"

Thank you NetGalley and Button Poetry for the chance to read and review the ARC for So, Stranger by Topaz Winters.

I wasn't expecting much from this collection; the cover is not to my taste and in a store would put me off. But here I am, pretty surprised that this turned out to be a phenomenal collection on loss (for lack of a better word) and family. Topaz Winters is a great writer and puts her best foot forward with the first piece 'Departure Time.' My other favorites were 'Ars Poetica Il: Season Finale of the American Dream' and 'In your absence', which hit closer to home than I would like to admit.

I'll be checking out more by this poet soon!

I really enjoy this poetry collection. It has adequate depth and eloquence that able to capture reader up to the end. I have a few favourite from this poetry, and absolutely loving the poems with father as the main theme.

And I love the organisation of the titles, I don't know how to explain it — but it just makes sense.