I really thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I wasn’t life changing but it held my attention fairly well and I enjoyed getting to know the characters and seeing how their story would unfold.

These are my interpretations of each, which after reading I’m gonna go get a beer because these were deep, personal and very moving.

Ennui: sad and deep 5/5
S. Carolina: very emotional, delves into poverty 5/5
Nothing but a history of anatomy: loss of the mind before loss of the body 5/5
Aunt Jemima: woman’s pov of family loss and fear of outside interference 4/5
Phone conversation: burdens of family in a broken world 4/5
Returning: remembering a happy childhood but also marital abuse. 5/5
Ruptured: generational abuse stops with the little girl 5/5
Self requisition: a form of self destruction? Thought provoking 4/5
Every night after Safia’s death: coping with learned adoption? This one confused me */5
2004: loss and the mourning in the family 5/5 full of feeling
Homecoming: relics of the first marriage. Sad for a mom in abusive relationships 4/5
On days I wanted to come out: wanting to be content with their true selves, but not there yet. Self ridiculing 4/5
In the bar: very difficult and emotional to read. Upsetting. Cyclical abuse */5
My grief in a nutshell: no reprieve from grief, not even during sleep 5/5. I felt this

Poetry is not usually what I read but this book was quite interesting and heartbreaking. Grief, death and parents is something I’m familiar with. Felt the emotions of each poem but there were 2 or 3 that I couldn’t understand. Nevertheless, pretty amazing work.

my expectations when delving into this chapbook were quite high given the reviews I’d heard. i even read it twice to make sure i was giving it a fair chance. i was disappointed regardless.

while the grief-filled, often violent themes discussed in the poems were approached with immense emotional openness and honesty, many of the enjambments and metaphors felt forced, especially as the chapbook progressed. sometimes the poems said too much, underestimating the reader, and other times (this is especially true of the shorter poems) they read like instagram poetry, which is not necessarily bad in itself, but made the chapbook feel disjointed and shallow.

House of Filth is "must-reading" in both a literary sense and an emotional one. Kei Vough Korede shares honestly and with clear reflections with thoughtful word-crafting. An example of what poetry allows for when practiced best.

This was full of really cool turns of phrase, and talked about race and grief in really cool ways. Parts of this book were super accessible and easy to understand, and then there were also parts that I didn’t quite get, but not in a negative way! More in like a Needs Further Analysis way, which honestly is my preferred way to read poetry.

Representation: i should rename this category for poetry and nonfiction, but this collection talked about Blackness and class

spice level: none

These poems really spoke to me.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for this arc through netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.

Here I am, over-reaching again, in hoping I will have learned to talk about poetry since the last time I tried to talk about poetry.

Spoiler: I haven’t.

The poems in this chapbook offer perspectives on the complex interweaving of identity and grief, especially as wrought upon bodies and through families. Love and pain are almost inextricable here: the poet reflects on separation, on death, on domestic violence, on dementia, on his own coming out.

It’s difficult to capture your own emotional responses to poetry, especially when the subjects at hand are so harrowing. At first I struggled slightly with the fact the individual poems had an open-endedness to them, often ending on an ellipsis, an image less bold than those preceding it, or an idea more ambiguous. But in the end I came to, I think, understand more about what the poems were … doing? Sorry, I really am dreadful at talking about poetry. The thing is, there aren’t obvious conclusions to any of these things—our experiences of grief or violence or alienation are (for better or worse) part of an on-going journey. Language is a frail and uncertain tool here, especially when compared to the hard reality of suffering.

“you have watched your father build
a mansion of grief in your mother’s eyes” (2004)

We return endlessly, and painfully, to bodies and places, to what seems like an impossible search for stability and meaning amongst familial, personal and cultural turmoil:

“I become a boy rummaging through the sky for a hint of blue
though light is a far-fetched answer to
a body marred with turbulence.” (Ruptured)

Basically, these are lost and restless poems, where even the consolation of poetry itself—control over language—is inadequate to address the scope of the speaker’s pain.

“I relapse into brooding silence for I was carved on a
disheartening day...” (On Days I Want To Come Out)

Anyway, my useless at reviewing/talking about poetry aside, this is an incredibly impressive achievement for what I understand to be the poet’s first chapbook? Kei Vough Korede’s voice already feels distinct and unique upon the page. This is a powerful collection of poems that I know I will return to.

In this poetry book, we see the author/poet struggle with grief, racism, parental separation, loss amongst a few of harsh real life topics. The poet delivers lines and provokes feelings with an intense push that leaves your heart aching. A line I had highlighted and that has stuck with me since reading their poems is, "how permissible is life when you realize someday your body wont be too big to fit a coffin?" the deliver of not only this line but the poem itself left chills on my body. The poet is a very talented individual.
Rating 4.25/5

Poetry is one of those things I’m not normally a huge fan of. Every poem was themed, they mostly all related to the other. I especially liked “Defiant in Death”, “Ruptured”, and “South Carolina” the most. I hope that people read these poems and realize that the poems are probably based on real people in the author’s life and as that they should read them and visualize what is happening, especially in this day and age, we need reminders like this.

this chapbook of poetry is really, really brilliant. the themes of grief, haunting, identity, and death are thick and and envelop each line. korede's lineation could be a bit more varied, but the diction stands for itself. each stanza is pungent. these poems are so personal and so telling, a lot of heart and soul went into them. i savored each poem, and you will too. gorgeous, timely, and striking. i look forward to reading more by kei vough korede.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!