This was a solid two star collection to me. It didn't resonate much and perhaps I wasn't the intended audience.

COMPOSITION, by Junious Ward, is a stunning collection of poetry. Each poem is thoughtful and often moving. The broad range of form and style in the book is interesting and adds to the reading experience, often giving the reader greater depth of understanding on the content.

Having watched Till in the cinema today (the heartbreaking true story of Emmett Till’s lynching in Missippi in 1955), this book has reminded me further of the many racial injustices in American history. The real articles included in the poetry collection, serve to further remind the reader of the brutal facts which must not be forgotten.

This is an unforgettable, important collection of poetry that I will re-read again in the future.


Thank you to Mr. Ward, Button Poetry, and NetGalley for making this book available to pre-read. I’m grateful to have read this stunning collection.

Thank you NetGalley and Button Poetry for allowing me to read this book of poetry in return for my honest opinion. Another work of poetry that I could bring myself to finish.

COMPOSITION by Junious Ward is such a beautiful and powerful collection of poems.

Personal biography, family photos, historical records, current events, and uncommon poetic shapes all mix together in a way that feels unified and clearly shaped. Taken together, it's a moving book about grief, identity, violence, and resilience.

Thanks to @netgalley and @buttonpoetry for the ARC and for the opportunity to spend some time with such impactful words.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Composition is a thought-provoking collection about biracial identity, Junious Ward uses multiple forms throughout the book to convey his messages including art, documents, newspaper clippings. photos and mixed media to make this a very interesting and engaging piece of work ( i highly recommend reading through the appendices that expand on the sources included in the collection). Everything in this book is well thought out, some poems like Inheritance & Mural of this country can be read in either direction.
These are some of my favourite ones from my current read that come to my mind:
Kodak 4200 Slide projector asks if I ever held hands with my father
Mural of this country
Language of composition
Forever, a protest is just a run
The Narrative
Blessings
I Love the hometown i had to leave
Inheritance

This poetry collection is amazing and unique in its presentation. The poems were moving, and so poignant in their subject matter. Ward presented such emotional and rich content in his poems. The form of the poetry in this collection was amazing. The fact that it is called Composition and it is presented in such a unique way highlighted the reading experience even more. I will surely be looking out for more of Ward's work in the future.

A rich and powerful collection of poetry and prose. Ward writes about his upbringing, his family, and his identity as a biracial man. The flow is rhythmic and enchanting even when poems break out of traditional norms and styles.

My favorite poems are: "Spiritual Rising From A Cotton Field Burning", "Black Rapture", and "I Can't Stare Directly Into The Footage."

This is a great poetry collection and deserves to be placed on your 2023 poetry TBR. This collection deals with many topics surrounding racism, segregation, history and the poets own experience being biracial in America. I loved the different styles of poetry that were used; particularly the blackout poetry and the “mad libs” style poem titled V. Letter of Promise.

Some of my favourite poems in the collection:
- Kodak 4200 Slide Projector Asks if I Ever Held Hands With my Father
- III. Loco Parentis
- V. Letter of Promise
- Within the Prohibited Degree
- - Google Image Search: Boston Massacre
- The Narrative
- Blessings

If ever poems could be displayed in a gallery, as a mural, or on a billboard then I hope America posts the poems in this book.
However, one thing is certain that the conversation on bias, prejudice, race, slavery, colonialism is one that everyone comes ready to prove a point rather to hear each other out and accept mistakes...it's more tantalizing to use hashtags, catch phrases or protest for a while just as the author shares in the piece, 'Language of Composition,' for words do bruise souls, labels undermine human dignity.
If you read earlier on, there's the connection of fathers and sons of what black legacy looks like and the narratives passed on to young men. Then there is the poem titled, 'We learn in halves,' where he talks of how we gather stories and compares it in the very beginning to how we define baskets by what they gather- and neatly wraps up the collection with 'Inheritance.
I love button poetry and I've often been called out on my biases and prejudices and sometimes even enticed by some of the books I've had the privilege to read. This one here goes back to the very beginning, to laws, newspaper clippings, images, calligrams all displaying what black is, how black is perceived, understood, consumed and burdened and it got me thinking of the number of times in job applications, university scholarship applications where I shaded black under the 'ethnicity' question.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC

I found this to be a super accessible and exciting book of poetry. Ward plays with form and shape and language in ways that really delighted me. The way he linked history and the contemporary moment was brilliant -- a poem that put Crispus Attucks / Boston Massacre in conversation with Colin Kaepernick / the present digital moment in conversation was so clever. The way he writes blackout poetry using historical primary documents - incredible! poems like mad libs, shaped like the United States, and so much more will keep you excited as you read. Ward's reflection on race, politics, identity, and historical traumas is deep and profound, and I can't wait to think of ways to incorporate this into my history classes.

This is a lovely poetry book about racism and what it feels like to be biracial in America. Drawing on his deep well of personal experience as well as his lineage, Junious Ward delivers a beautifully crafted work that deserves to be a big hit in 2023.

Composition relies heavily on the use of calligrams to foster the interweaving of meaning and experience. Much is conveyed through his lovely wording, but also by what he blatantly leaves unsaid at times. The breaks, spaces, and gaps (visually) speak just as loudly as the surrounding verbiage. I know Margaret Atwood is a white woman who centered white women in black people's stories, but the style of this book did remind me of a quote of hers: "We lived in the gaps between the stories." Of course, Atwood only voiced what people of color have already known for centuries, and I found myself yearning to see these "selves" between Ward's stories. I do not always have the depth or the range to perceive them, but I catch glimpses once in a while- due only to Ward's skill as a writer and not my own merit.

I am a white woman and it isn't my place to comment on the biracial elements of the book (in terms of criticism), but I will say that I loved them and learned. This is a short tome, but the tiny package holds universes of wisdom and stories within it. I hope I can hear Ward perform at a poetry slam one day, but if not, I feel lucky to have read his work. I found myself unconsciously snapping my fingers when a particular line gave me chills or "wowed" me with its insight. This is one of those books that I will have to re-read multiple times to uncover the many facets and nuances I missed on the first go-round.

Thank you to Mr. Ward, Button Poetry, and NetGalley for making this book available for people like me to read and review as an e-ARC!