There were a few of these poems that resonated. Unfortunately though, I didn't understand or relate to most of them.

I do like the style of writing and would potentially pick up another collection from this author.

These poems were spot on most of the time, they were wonderfully written and have nice symbolism.
I loved in general these poems and the way they were written, one thing that made me a little tired, was the lack of comma especially in the longer poems, they made my eyes hurt and my head spin.
I also really loved the layout and it was easy for the eyes to read.

I'm not usually a poetry person, but some of these shone so much light on things I tried to keep hidden that it definitely had the potential to turn me into one. Many Small Hungerings is a multifaceted discussion of love, longing, loss, grief, and the craving of small moments that live only in our memories now. Calling them hungerings is exactly right.

There were a few repetitive memories - the way it feels to see the sun on their skin, or feel their breath on your cheeks, etc. - and those ones I kind of glazed over. I'd say there were also some that didn't hit home for me, but more because of the content and how it relates to me, not because of the writing or the imagery.

Overall, some of the more enjoyable poetry I've read.

Before receiving this arc, I was not familiar with Bortz. This collection of poetry might be similar in some ways to what you see posted on various Instagram accounts as poetry seems to be a bit trendy right now, but Bortz’s work has a more depth and feeling than the average post. Most of the poems in this collection are short, but I found I liked being able to read a few while waiting for the coffee to brew in the morning. CARRY and WRAP were two of my favorite poems in this collection.

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for providing access to a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Much more depth than many of the collections I’ve read lately offering pseudo-inspirational instagram content. Very much enjoyed.

This collection of poetry found me at the right time :') in these poems Bortz discusses nostalgia and sentimentality and the passing of time and healing from the past and reconciling with the uglier sides of yourself. I thought that he handled these topics so gently and tenderly and in a way that was so comforting to read. The snippets of nature imagery were also beautiful and tied in perfectly with the themes.

As in all poetry collections there were some hits and some misses, and I do feel like the formatting of lines could be made to flow better at some parts, but overall this was a lovely read that filled me with hope.

My favourites: CARRY, GHOST(S), PASSING, ALL WE KNOW OF DEATH IS ITS MUSIC, YESTERDAY'S ACHE, "MAPLE LEAF, ON A WALK, MID-SPRING

"I press into my sadness
like a door, believing
there is light on the other side"

"there could never be stillness
we simply continue quietly opening doors
making sure no one can see our hands trembling
searching for our way out"

"spring rests its head on the cold chest of winter"

"when it is too quiet I think about tiny things
the stem keeping the fruit from fainting
pockets of light where dust morphs into gold
a stray strand of your hair caught in the neck of my shirt"

"the only thing between us is memory"

This poetry collection was fine.
There were several poems that were quite beautifully written, but none of them really spoke to me in a meaningful way.

This is nitpicky, but I'm not a fan of the titles in this poetry collection. Many of them are quite literal and fine, but some of them gave an expectation for what the following poem would be and then the poem wouldn't seem to fit the title at all. I understand this is purely personal interpretation, but I found myself rereading poems thinking that I missed something.

It's been a while since I really loved a poetry collection, but this is a good one. While there are some insta poetry moments, overall the collection was a good one and I would read more from him in the future! And by good one, I would say that this writer gets a 4 out of 5 stars and I wouldn't feel embarrassed recommending this collection to someone.

Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this collection!

3 out of 5 stars

I enjoyed this a fair amount, I probably would've liked it even better if I wasn't reading this at 1am. There were a few things I noted down while reading this collection. Firstly, I love this author's writing style and I really connected with that even in the poems where I didn't connect with the words. However, the structure of a good chunk of these poems isn't my favorite and did mess me up a bit when reading. The last thing I noted was that there were quite a few repetitive phrases and I am not a big fan of that unless it's to tie in everything but it just felt a bit odd here. Still a good read and I really appreciated the chance to get to read this and definitely would read more from this author in the future.

Disclaimer: I received an arc digital copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Poetry helps me to get through and learn how I'm feeling at the moment, and this book touched that part of my heart. Interesting prose and how the author conveys love in certain aspects speak to me. I learned to love poetry when my middle grade teacher introduce me to this world, it really help me to figured out my feeling that I can't put words to it.

Un poemario que me cautivó más al final. No creo tener palabras para lo que sería el principio, pero el final logró tocar ciertos temas personales con los que estoy lidiando en estos momentos.

This book of poetry explores themes of depression and loss, and I liked Bortz's discussion of grief and his representation in the description in each poem. I also like that the poems weren't all the same style. It broke up any potential monotony before it could begin, and I was able to get a sense of the loss the narrator was swimming in. I really enjoyed this collection!

"<...> I wrinkle myself into something small—
a marble, a tooth, a pinprick of light, I must become a beginning or
anything without a sour memory."

I wasn't familiar with William Bortz's poetry before picking up this arc and clearly that's something I must rectify. Whether the poem was two lines or two pages long, he weaves the words beautifully, eliciting longing for what you cannot go back to. The collection is an exploration of love and grief, and it certainly hits the mark. I ended up bookmarking every other poem, but "ALL WE KNOW OF DEATH IS ITS MUSIC" and "AGAIN" are the standouts for me.

Many Small Hungerings by William Bortz is a collection of poetry about grief, loss, longing, the beauty in the every day, memories, and a lot more. I have read countless poetry collections by this point, and I’ve found ones that I absolutely adored, but it’s rare for them to make me feel the level of emotions this one did. Almost every single poem made me speechless and hit me exactly in the most sensitive parts of my heart. It was almost too intense in some moments that I didn’t know how to handle the overwhelming reality of it.

It forced me to face feelings hidden in the depths of my soul, it gave me new perspectives on a lot of human experiences, and it overall just touched me so hard that I feel vulnerable and raw but I’m happy I read it.

I absolutely recommend it if you’d like to read a collection of poetry that might hit sore spots of your heart while still holding it gently and giving you hope and comfort in the process. I will definitely be picking up other collections by William Bortz.

Once in a while you come across a book that gets you excited about the present, about those little moments you experience and this collection by Mr. William Bortz does that. Well, it did just that for me.
For example, in CARRY, you experience and relate to what it means to move on, and also to hold onto a moment. In PRAYER, 3AM- you experience what we speak of or have in mind when we talk about trauma and healing, and MINERAL WATER, had me crying my heart out because it is on the memory of a loved one lost and MANY speaks of war.
Some poems have a line or two, some more than ten yet each tells a story, speaks of a feeling, of memory, of love, life and what it is to live.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.