I am so thankful to FSG, Ishion Hutchinson, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this galley before publication day. I really enjoyed the dialogue and plot of this book and can’t wait to chat this one up with my friends!

Thank you #NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. 

These poems are more like stories. It's more like looking at all the poems as a whole and seeing them as a story told in verses rather than seeing them as separate poems. I think it missed the zest. It could be put more poetically. 

I don't know. But it didn’t match my expectations. I expected more. I appreciate the uses of imagery and references from other books/authors. But this is not something I would remember for the time being.
#FarDistrict

I don't think I'm the best person to review this book because it's my first time reading a poetry book. A someone who's not a native English speaker, I did come across quite many words that I was unfamiliar with, and that with how new I am to poetry made some parts a struggle.

And yet, I think that Ishion Hutchinson is a talented poet, who has a way with words and I did end up highlighting more parts that I liked than I expected, even more for the writing than me really understanding the meaning. I do kind of wish to hear the author talk about the book if I'll find it somewhere on the internet.

Pems that I really liked:
Requiem for Aunt May pt. II
New World Frescoes pt. IV
Letter from Home
Terminus pt. II
The Last Circle

Beautiful beautiful poetry collection. As with any collection, there were some that resonated with me more than others. But I am so glad to have read this. Hutchinson is such an incredible talent and I can't wait to read more from them!

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for a copy of this ARC!

I absolutely loved this poetry collection! Every poem resonated with me, full of depth, emotion, and beautifully crafted language. The author’s voice is distinct and powerful, weaving themes that touched my heart and mind. This is easily one of my favorite collections now, and I’m eager to read more from this incredible poet. Each verse felt intentional, and the flow of the book was seamless. I have no complaints—it’s truly a masterpiece. The author has quickly become a favorite of mine. Five stars, without hesitation!

beautiful, with very poetic writing style and the words thoroughly living inside my brain like a vivid imagination

The book was very good overall with a beautiful poetry. Nonetheless, I did not fully achieve the connection I was expecting.

I don't quite feel knowledgeable enough to speak at length about a poetry book beyond saying that I enjoyed it and am very glad that I read it. Much of what it evoked about a Caribbean upbringing and childhood resonated with me.

As sumptuous as it is liminal, this collection straddles two worlds. Unifying the experience of diaspora which captures the bright and the dark in equal measure, Hutchinson's poems fly off the page, filled with life and blossoming with breathtaking constructions of language and imagery.

In his book Blind Spot, Teju Cole mentions in one of the last pages the names of two poets, Derek Walcott and Ishion Hutchinson. My admiration of the poetry by Derek Walcott situates Walcott as my favorite poet. Seeing Hutchinson’s name, a poet new to me, in a book in the company of Walcott’s name, meant much to me.

Seeing this title, Far District, I pounced upon the book, which, according to publication history, seems to have made its initial appearance in Britain more than a decade ago as Hutchinson’s first published collection of poems. With what appears to be a growing interest in his work, it’s made its way to our shores, from Jamaica by way of Britain.

His early work shows influences in chosen forms, tone, and language of Derek Walcott. Harold Bloom wrote a book, Anxiety of Influence, about how strong poets rewrite, intentionally or not, the works of their precursors. So when I personally read Hutchinson’s poem, New World Frescoes, as a portrait of Derek Walcott, that’s not a bad thing.

Hutchinson also has his own themes based on his personal experiences: Jamaican island life through the eyes of a boy, the much older women in his household and out in the community who are emotionally and daringly bigger than the roles he perceived for women. In some poems he leaves the island and in other poems he is along in New York City. Other poems describe the people of his community after he returns home, having honed his poetic tools as a writer with new perspectives and deeper reading, his observations are more generous toward subject matter and his forms looser and less classical. I’m eager to read more of his poetry to see how his work has developed over the years.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an Advanced Readers Copy

"my body has forgotten me, / in the hunger for words"

'Far District' is a heavy collection of poems that read like childhood fragments you aren't sure are memories or fever dreams. Weighted with historical context and infused with mythology, each poem is a story on its own, but they all work together to form this overarching narrative of growing up in Jamaica.

While at times some pieces felt jarringly abstract, looking back on this collection once I had read it in its entirety, the story made more sense. I think Far District is a work that demands and rewards re-reads. It truly works as a whole, rather than individual poems, but two managed to stand out to me, 'Far District' and 'Letter from Home'; I found them particularly striking.

Hutchinson has a unique voice, which isn't entirely to my taste if I'm to be honest, but which is so interesting to read.

The thing about most poem books is in fewer words the impact they offer is tremendous.

Far district wasn't the exception to this general rule that applies to poetry. This read as story of a young boy being raised in the rural Jamaica. It read more like a life painted in the form of a story and the journey even though not pleasant always was definitely enchanting.

I liked few poems more than the others which happens always. It left feeling little bereft as even though I didn't really experience it first-hand but I did experience it through words.

Thank you Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for a rather special poetry collection that stands out from other poetry collections.

This poetry collection reads like a story and a beautiful one at that. It is centred around the poet’s own experiences of growing up as a boy in rural Jamaica. The poems take imagery from nature and the culture around him as well as western ideas and mythology. These themes seem to be clashing with each other but at the same time blend together as Hutchinson starts to come more into his identity. I will say some of this went over my head. I’m not sure if that’s on me or if it’s the structure of the poems. Because these poems form an ongoing story, the individual poems felt a bit chaotic at times. It makes it so that there’s a bit too much going on in one poem and the essence sometimes gets a bit lost. However, I did still enjoy this! My favourite poems were:

- anthropology
- requiem for aunt may
- new world frescoes
- a small pantheon
- letter from home
- a surveyor’s journal
- circle march
- the mirror before sleep

"Far District" is precisely rich in symbolism, with the deliberate placement of metaphors and the careful vagueness weaving an anthropological exploration. It's the perfect option for those seeking a quick yet thought-provoking read. The poems within are sparse and discrete in their emotional landscape. The author's subtle use of religious metaphors adds another dimension to the reading experience. Among the collection, my personal favourites are "Requiem for Aunt May" and "The Mother Portrait."

4.25 stars rounded down.

I was very excited to be approved for this book by NetGalley, so thank you to them and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This collection of poetry was initially released in 2010, I think, but is being re-released on November 12, 2024. Upon first publication, it won the PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award.

Far District: Poems takes the reader on a journey of a man trying to figure out his place in the world. Born in Jamaica, Hutchinson's poems are dripping with beautiful imagery of the sea, the island he grew up on, and the culture he was raised in. There are poems that mix English with Jamaican Patois masterfully, which reflects the theme that run throughout the collection, which seems to be of a person who holds a skepticism about Western culture while also needing to question his own. I loved when poems took imagery from Greek mythology and put that imagery beside Jamaican myths and stories, or moments from the author's life. I thought it was so clever and so impactful.

Did I understand everything I read? No. I come from a very different background than Hutchinson. But I can easily see myself re-reading these poems and getting something different out of them every time. Thoroughly enjoyed, and so glad I was able to read this ARC for National Poetry Month.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!

I have been getting more into poetry recently, and this poetry collection is a work of art. I haven't read a poetry collection quite like this one before, and I really enjoyed this collection. There were some poems I had to read a couple times since I am not completely used to the format that was used for this. Overall, a collection worth picking up!

"Far District" is an amazing poetry-collection of the author's boyhood in Jamaica.

For someone who doesn't read much poetry, it was a challenge, at first, to understand the long, complex poems that Ishion Hutchinson showed. I was, somehow, used to simple poetry, or poetry in my native tongue, so I had a diccionary at hand.

But, once I managed to get past that, I truly enjoyed it. The pace was just perfect, the structure of the poems were incredible to see, and the topics of both cultures were added without being too vague or too in the nose. I found the collection pretty enjoyable.

"Lips remember no songs,
hands no rituals, all I have
are headache dreams.
The sea swells into a hurricane,
the land blackens into cancer,
lightning opens a heart
in the sky, like a boy opening
the window of a hot room
his mother died in."

many thanks to FSG books for so graciously giving me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

reading far district is like viewing a piece of contemporary art. you know it's beautiful. you know that it pulls at you. you just might not necessarily understand why until you've given yourself time to think about it, to process your feelings, to revisit it. even when i didn't understand something on my first pass, there would inevitably be lines that just resonated within me. will all readers find this book approachable? no, not at all. but this is a collection of poems that more than deserves the attention and work that it requires.

hutchinson and i are from incredibly different backgrounds — many his poems are steeped in this burning specificity that would be confusing ro me if not for the gripping and relentless imagery he provides alongside it. these poems build off one another, creating a connective tissue that fuses together culture, religion, philosophy, memory, learning, and longing. even despite so much turmoil, there's still so many instances of light to be found throughout. i learned so much, and i know i will remember so many aspects of this book due to the enduring beauty of hutchinson's writing.

Ishion Hutchinson’s Far District poetry collection read like that of an art gallery. Snapshots of this young boy growing up in Jamaica. What that means and looks like. Written with beautiful pros. My only issue is most of the time the paintings weren't strong enough to convey my emotions. As much as I loved reading from Hutchinson and learning everything I can something felt off.

As the collection feels heavy and most of the poems hard to grasp at times, I found myself rereading them as I went along. Leaving for a very unsatisfying journey. Some in the middle even that didn't allow me to full enjoy the work. Which I blame on myself not Hutchinson ways to phrase a sentence.

Then you have the standout poems and those hit me like the best painting I just wish they were all like that.

Overall, I'm landing on a 3.25⭐'s.

(Gifted an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Myth, madness, and the swallowing past all shape Far District: Poems, Ishion Hutchinson's debut poetry collection. In a rough narrative, we follow a speaker (The Prodigal in "New World Frescoes", I and You in many others), journeying from a childhood past in Jamaica to a present across the sea.

Hutchinson's voice, at its best, pulses with a mixture of the divine and disgust, often in awe at the natural and literary and struggling with the humans, though there too creeps in love. Lines like "tuned to the blue/ above and below" and "I know rivers the way I know hate" evoke such clear reactions, ironically often of very messy feelings. "A Small Pantheon" and "Doris at the River" were favorites for me from the collection.

Occasionally a line feels too blunt and some poems commit so much to the narrative that the more abstract poems feel more out of place as a result. But I can already see how a reread, armed with Hutchinson's notes at the end, could be particularly rewarding.