This was my first peek at poetry and I am not disappointed. The way Nahum conveys mood is wonderful and I enjoyed reading this short glimpse into the world of poetry. I love the cover art and am looking forward to seeing what else Nahum publishes in the future.

I give this small but mighty poetry collection 5 stars because I think that if you give this the time and effort it deserves, it will enchant you and tell you a whole story instead of several, single poems.

I would love to own this physically and pour over it with a pen and find delicious patterns in storytelling and word usage.

✨Thank you to NetGalley and Querencia Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange of my honest review✨

I have wrestled with the way clouds weep by Judy Nahum is a truly interesting piece of work, speaking on a large grouping of things each one more artistic than the other.

I'm not a fan of poetry collection. I liked a few poems, but most of them didn't give me anything. I feel like the book was written for necessity and, after that, was not revised. Also, I think that I could have enjoyed it more if it was on paper, so that I could have written my thoughts as well.

There is a raw edge to this writer’s reality that is as enjoyable as it is disturbing. It does not bring about feelings of fear, but rather a sense of requirement — to plunge into oneself and find meaning in their words.

To me, that is beautiful poetry. Embracing death with a mystic tongue and frank beauty. Unmistakeable and true.

My favorite poems were: Aria of Mourning & the Maple, The earth woven casket of reeds, and Migrants

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC.

Only 34 pages but I’m glad I read this book by Portland poet Julie Nahum— I have wrestled with the way the clouds weep. A beautiful title and cover, nature based poetry, intense and beautiful lines.

From a poem called “The earth wove a casket of reeds” which I loved.

I drink from wild honeysuckle
Suck bare fishbones
White as teeth, leave the tiny fans
Of rib cage for the dogs

Watch the mushrooms sprout
From tongues of torn carpet—

I am an oilslick, rusted hubcap
I open every door to the shrill fever of wind.

Words well-crafted in lines.
Enjoy!

Publishing date: 13.12.2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Querencia Press for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

Short collections like these are great breaks between longer books, which I have been trapped in for a while now. But this collection wasn't the strongest cleanser. Not sure if it was a lack of strong themes, the writing not calling to me, or simply me being in a reading slump.

The contents surround nature, disease, grief, and survival

Final ranking and star rating?
3 stars, C tier. This falls on a middle ground. I enjoyed my time with it and can appreciate the writing and contents, but I haven't really thought about it since and didn't find any favorites among the poems. This might land better with others.

I have grown to love poetry in the last few years, and enjoyed this short collection of poetry. I first was interested by the cover alone. There was something about the Orca and title that drew me in.

At first, I will be honest, I wasn’t fully “getting” the poems, especially the first few. However, after rereading them their beauty began to take shape. This is something I love about poetry- the way it changes and speaks differently to you each time you read it. And when I realized what time period the poems were based on, then they hit so much deeper.

I think what touched my soul the most was the description of pain and grief, especially in “Breakthrough” where it describes the acute pain of illness. While I know it was specific to COVID, when it reads “A mess of words throbbing in my brain; my skull inadequate casing.” It reminds me of the many times where a chronic illness flares and my brain is very alive, but yet that is all that I can do. When it then reads “dishes piled on the desk, countless takeout orders,” I felt seen. In “Swinging steadfast from a tender branch,” the description of pain, and in particular menstrual pain… it hit the mark.

So while at first I was struggling to understand, the beauty began to reveal itself. Looking forward to more from this author.

***I thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review***

what a beautiful, short collection of poetry! loved it so much and oh, how i wish it were a bit longer! i have a sweet spot for imagery and the writing in this was simply exquisite. highly underrated, and i definitely recommend <3

<b><i> “I will gorge myself on the ocean floor
& rise up,
grinning

a mouth full of shells
ready to shatter into words” </b></i>

props to the author for giving me inspiration to finally write and publish my own collection as well <3

<b><i> “From above, and in my throat, sparrows. From above, I have wrestled with the way clouds weep. In dreams I take flight, soaring over city blocks, patchworked rowhouses fathoms below. In dreams, I smash windows and don't even bleed. Glass shards turn to rose petals under my fingernails.” </b></i>

x

3.5 stars

** Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. **

Excerpt from "yakamoz" (my favorite poem from the collection)

... "or when I'm in the car and suddenly struck/ by an old pain, I want the asphalt/ to flood, to make a sailboat of me,/ skimming along the watery glow./ I want the moon in one pocket/ & the ocean in the other, to roll them/ between my fingers like worry beads,/ hold them close & know/ that when I need them,/ I can cast them out to make yakamoz,/ the word that actually means a phrase,/ the word that is a balm for/ pain as big as a whale's."

Pros
+ the final poem, "Yakamoz," is absolutely beautiful and a standout in the collection
+ themes: nature, water, ecology, survival, growth, grief
+ vibes: contemplative, sad
+ 4.5-star (1 poem):
"Yakamoz" - grief, water as healing, space
+ 4-star (2 poems):
"Brighton Beach" - beach, male gaze, bottom-feeder
"Aria of Mourning & the Maple" - overstimulation, parenthood
+ 3.5-star (4 poems):
"October" - trees, forest, air/breathing, shadows
"Migrants" - plant growth, survival
"M" - longing, pain, taste
"of hunger & circling" - grief, memory, hunger

Cons
- 3-stars (6 poems): "The earth wove a casket of reeds," "The Bookbinder," "You are what I feel," "swinging steadfast from a tender branch," "Aria of Space Travel Through Your Irises," "Practice Makes"
- 2.5-stars (1 poem): "Breakthrough"
- My average poem score was 3.4/5 (exactly meh)
- I felt neutral about the majority of poems. The nature imagery was nice and the style was inoffensive. Yet, it didn't make me feel nor did it make me think. Just kind of meh.
- I asked for this ARC because of the water imagery and was hoping for more, especially since the only poem I loved was the orca/ocean one at the very end.

Similar vibes: Your Heart Is the Sea by Nikita Gill (ocean/water, breakup, grief/healing themes)

TW: grief, a breakup

"you are what I feel / when my mouth puckers with tartness, / when the sentence comes out flawless, / when I see the word celestial." (loc. 72)

Chapbooks are such an odd beast of a thing: short and sweet, so much packed into so few pages. I'm not a poetry connoisseur (I know what I like but can't always articulate why, and poetry analysis is not my forte), and in spite or perhaps because of that I find chapbooks useful—enough to get a taste of the poet's writing but not so much that if it's not your cup of tea it drags.

I picked this one up largely for the title, taken from one of Nahum's poems:

"From above, and in my throat, sparrows. From above, I have wrestled with the way clouds weep. In dreams I take flight, soaring over city blocks, patchworked rowhouses fathoms below." (loc. 91)

The poems are a little over my head at times (again, I don't speak fluent poetry), but the imagery is lovely. It's probably a step too much wrestling for me, but that's okay—I'd rather a poem be a step too complex for my understanding than a step too simple to challenge. Would recommend this for those with a strong grasp of metaphor and impressionism.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

'I will gorge myself on the ocean floor
& rise up,
grinning

a mouth full of shells
ready to shatter into words'

Such a beautiful ode to the nature surrounding us humans. The author paints such beautiful comparisons between humans and various elements from the animal and plant world, you can easily feel and see them. The language is striking, oftentimes making you reread verses and contemplate their meaning. The beautiful craftsmanship of this short collection is even more astonishing when you realize that this is a debut author! I would highly recommend you add this to your collection as it is the type of book you could often come back to in the future; it would also be a perfect gift!

'From above, and in my throat, sparrows. From above, I have wrestled with the way clouds weep. In dreams I take flight, soaring over city blocks, patchworked rowhouses fathoms below. In dreams, I smash windows and don't even bleed. Glass shards turn to rose petals under my fingernails.'

I was really drawn in by the cover and felt it did well to set the tone for the works in this collection. There is just something about elements of the sea and nature that pushes all sense of longing, which came across well in the writing. This was a beautiful, short read.

I am not always a poetry person (unless we’re talking about Mary Oliver and in that case I’m always a fan) but I really enjoyed this book. The poems were all beautifully written and make me emotional, Migrants was my favorite one. I think this is poetry lots of people would resonate with and I can’t wait to recommend it.

Long Story Short: wrestling with the perfect words to convince everyone to read this book

Judy Nahum's poetry is best described as a strong tea: an aromatic blend that manages to put a peppery twist on Emily Dickinson's elliptical use of language.

This book was kindly made available to me by NetGalley. #netgalley #poetry #judynahum

3.5 stars to Judy Nahum's i have wrestled with the way clouds weep. This collection of poems was brief, yet carried profound insight into a story of love, life, grief, and healing.

from the poem "swinging steadfast from a tender branch":

"From above, and in my throat, sparrows. From above, I have wrestled with the way clouds weep... In dreams, I smash windows and don't even bleed. Glass shards turn to rose petals under my fingernails."

First of all, this cover is gorgeous. The image and colour palette is a solid 120/10 and is what drew me to the book as normally I am a bit hesitant at requesting poetry books from netgalley. I am so glad it did entice me as while short this poetry collection packs a punch. I found myself re-reading poems and still finding them as impactful as the first time.

This poetry collection attempts to encapsulate the feelings of pain and sorrow following on from grief and love. Basically, they are a collection of very human poems.

Thank you to #netgalley for this ARC.

This one benefits from being read out loud. It rolls of the tongue so beautifully and the meaning that i interpreted is grief and longing. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This collection was refined for an audience with mature thinking and broad mindset. It was beautifully complex and i loved reading it

"Pain is awakening the color of sun ... But my pain is not precious. My pain deserves to be loosed."

A delightfully profound (albeit brief) collection of poems that touch on nature, womanhood, love, nostalgia, quarantine, and grief. I particularly loved the poems Brighton Beach, yakamoz, and swinging steadfast from a tender branch. I would love to see more of Judy Nahum's elegant prose in the future.