The basics: This collection of poetry alternates between "House of" and "Letters to C" poems with a long poem in the middle.

This one took me a while to get through the whole book. At times the emotion was too great to move on to the next one. The author's emotions leap from the pages and at times simply broke my heart.
As with all books of poetry, I had my favorites and my least favorites, but as whole this collection is one lovers of poetry should not miss. I am not sure that I could really say anything more because my words simply cannot communicate the emotion I felt reading these poems the way Caldwell's did as she so masterfully put into words everything being felt at the time of writing these.


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

Some of the worst poetry I’ve read. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity, but I did not put myself through more of it to finish this book.

Haunting, guttural, and incredible works to read. Like encountering a ghost on the pages, the lyrical nature of the poems follows you throughout.

I really liked this poetry, some parts were more like prose. I would read more from the author. Easy to understand

Letters to Forget was a gut punch to read. I found myself re-reading many of the poems just to experience the words in the way I hoped the author intended. This is a beautiful collection!

Some amazing individual parts, and the story behind this collection is certainly made more poignant by its pairing with Cass Donish's Your Dazzling Death. I didn't always vibe with every poem, and that's fine, but there is an interesting portrait here of a woman trying to hang on.

I loved the idea of this collection and wanted to love it (especially as a woman with bipolar 1), but I hate to say that very little made sense. There were rarely more than two lines/sentences that made any sort of sense, and next to none were completely coherent. It felt like random words were being strung together.

I will say that many individual lines or phrases were beautiful. I just wish I could say the same for more of the poems.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book cracked my heart in two. It was published after the young authors death.

It deals in the themes of belonging and displacement and identity and love.

The poems are interspersed with letters to the authors partner Cass Donish (who also has a book of poetry coming out that I read and recommend.)

What struck me as I read this book was the poems seemed designed to keep the reader out. They deal with the themes deftly and lyrically but always in a way that seems to be saying that you (the reader) shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t be reading this, shouldn’t know these thoughts, as if the author is begging to be heard while building a wall. Then you reach the next letter, and through talking to C we are finally allowed in, to see the tenderness, to see who Caldwell was and is and wanted to be.

These poems hurt to read but they were beautiful.

I received this as an arc from NetGalley and Knopf

This book was essentially split into two series that alternated throughout the book: “house of…” and “dear c…”. The two types of poems are distinct in their language as well as poetic style. In the middle of all of these, somewhat like an intermission, is “Self-portrait as Job,” a long poem that is unique and separate from the others.

First, the “house of…” poems (think house of sorrow, house of roses, house of scars, house of mercy, etc.). These poems are all written with periods at the line breaks in addition to other periods as sentence ends throughout. This unfortunately greatly detracted from the content of each poem, and I found it difficult to gather meaning from the words after trying to make sense of the breaks. For example, from house of 3:00 a.m: You bend at weird angles I said the. / Churned air reddish mad clenched. / With drunk subtleties. Who first thought. / Of this I said. And the world tilted.
These hard line breaks just really were not working for me (and this was what I thought was one of the best House of poems). In addition to the periods, these poems were all right-aligned, making the hard line breaks even more jarring.

Then the “dear c” poems. I thought these were much easier to read and understand, perhaps because they are all prose poems with no jarring line breaks. All of my favorite highlights from this book were in the “dear c” poems! Perhaps my favorite, from “dear c. I was reading about synchronic principles…”: “I plan to suffer greatly at my auctioned introduction into hope. This talent for getting lost requires effort.”

My favorite poems in this collection:
dear c. Oconomowoc, Wisconsin,
dear c. I wish I spoke
dear c. I find my griefs
dear c. You’re writing something to me
dear c. I was there, believe me
dear c. I was reading about synchronic principles

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

In this collection, Caldwell explores herself in relation to being trans, in relation to her bipolar diagnosis, and in relation to the world around her that doesn't necessarily understand a thing about her. This collection uses both a personal letter style as well as other dynamic styles to evoke pain, heartache, apathy, and one's relationship to religion, both inside the self and outside in the modern world. It is a collection that readers can sit with for a while in contemplation.

This is a beautiful, yet haunting, collection of letters and poems. It was at times difficult to read the poems knowing the author's fate, but I think it's important to address all aspects of mental health, even the difficult parts.

The poetry contained within Letters to Forget is at times so completely visceral that I simply had to put it aside. This is not an easy read of lighthearted poems…this is at times brutal, heartbreaking, and haunting. Kelly Caldwell’s words will affect you, sometimes in ways you cannot describe.

These aren’t poems that were worked over and over until they became a shining gem. These are
raw. There are also a lot of poems dealing with religion; more than I anticipated despite it being mentioned in the summary. I didn’t find those poems particularly engaging as it’s not a subject that I personally care about, although they did give an insight into the struggles and disconnect between religion and one’s self. Caldwell’s writings to her partner Cass Donish, at least in this first read through, are the ones I connected with the most. I definitely recommend reading this collection and then Cass Donish’s collection, “Your Dazzling Death.

I hope that some part of us lives on after death so that Kelly was able to witness her work being published. I have to hope this, because the idea of someone so talented never receiving their flowers for something so personal and so utterly human makes my heart hurt.

5⭐️

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and Knopf, however my review is completely unbiased and is my own personal opinion left of my own volition.

This collection of poetry was very hard to read at times and it took me to a very dark headspace for a while.

Knowing this collection has been published posthumously makes it even harder to read. Poetry has a way of resonating with the reader through so few words and this collection was so full of emotion and turmoil.

I’m rating this collection five stars because I can’t put any less. The way this made me feel in such a short time definitely shows the way Kelly Caldwell was feeling at the time of writing.

"Letters to Forget" by Kelly Caldwell is the kind of book that gets under your skin and lingers in the quiet spaces of your mind long after you've finished reading. Written with raw honesty and a haunting beauty, Caldwell's poems feel like a glimpse into the soul of someone grappling with the weight of existence and identity in a world that often feels like it’s closing in. Her exploration of mental illness, gender, and the pain of being unrecognized by those who should love you most is both devastating and deeply resonant. The "dear c." poems, addressed to her lover, pulse with an aching vulnerability that cuts straight to the heart. This is not an easy read, but it’s one that’s necessary for anyone who wants to understand the complexities of living on the edge of self-destruction and self-discovery. Caldwell's voice is both fragile and fierce, a testament to the power of poetry to express the inexpressible. A must-read for those who find solace in the intersections of darkness and light, and for anyone who has ever felt unseen.

This is an interesting poetry collection that seemed to have a lot to say on transness and experiences with mental health. I really liked the house poems, especially as that theme was built upon. I do think many of these went over my head, but definitely a worthwhile collection.

A touching set of poems, but I didn't find the writing as compelling as its sister set. I think maybe I would've benefited from reading this collection first and reading Donish's second. I think it might've been more impactful to see how the themes in this collection were answered by Caldwell's partner, unfortunately posthumously. Still, a strong and heart wrenching set of poems.

As I was reading Letters to Forget, I could feel so much tension running through the poems. The subject matter centers on Caldwell’s experiences as a trans woman and her struggles with bipolar disorder. Many of the poems are addressed to her partner, and others grapple with her relationship to Christianity, often referencing Job. Reading this felt like a glimpse into the workings of a creative, artistic, and intelligent mind that did not fit into society’s mold, a society with stifling expectations that need to be torn down and abandoned.

From a craft standpoint, what struck me was Caldwell’s use of punctuation, especially periods, since they were often in unconventional or unexpected places, breaking up thoughts and causing the reader to pause and process. Periods forcing end stopped lines, accentuating words, and creating distinctive rhythms.

This is a collection that asks for multiple readings because there’s so much beneath the surface and so much complexity to explore. Learning about the author’s life and suicide at age 31 adds even more layers. I will be coming back to this collection often because of the beauty of the writing and the urgency of the themes within.

Did not love it. Did not hate it.

I didn't connect well with this book. I gave it three stars because I think the author put their heart and soul on the pages. It just wasn't for me.

I am sorry to hear of the passing of the Author before Publication. I am glad people took the time and effort to make this book a reality.
Although some of the poems were really hard to get through, to understand, but overall I enjoyed and appreciate it her words.

Thank you Knopf and Netgalley for the free ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

I think that this book could’ve used another round of edits before being put out into the world. While I think that some of the poems had a great punch there were numerous letters that could’ve used a heavy handed edit. I applaud all involved in releasing this postmortem and can imagine that there was great joy found in being able to share her work. I feel that there could’ve just been significant work done in the arrangement and editing of these letters and poems. I wouldn’t call this just poems there were numerous almost afterthought letters jotted down and included.