Some Things I Still Can't Tell You

This book alone is one of the main reasons why I always think I should read more poetry.
I added this poetry collection in my tbr list mainly because I've been following Misha around web and television for quite a few years now and I knew he was a writer as well, but some of his old poems are pretty hard to find and with time I made my peace with the thought of never reading any more than the two or three poems you can find around the internet.
Then Mr Collins announced his first collection and I couldn't place it in my tbr list fast enough.
My review can be summarized with just one word: wow.
I loved every page, every poem, every feeling this book made me feel (and boy it can make you feel a lot in the span of a few pages) and it could easily become my favourite book of 2021. After two crappy years like 2020 and 2021 we needed something like this, and as always Misha couldn't let us down and presented it to us.
Do yourself a favor: buy this book the day it comes out and read it cover to cover as soon as you can, you won't regret it.

I adore Misha Collins, he seems extremely relatable every time I see him interviewed or read his posts. This collection of poetry was moving and I found myself reading Eugenia at a perfect moment when I was wondering what I really wanted myself to be too.
Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this galley in exchange for an honest review.

As an English major, I read poetry fairly frequently, but it does not always connect with me. This connected. It is the rawest, most direct poetry I've seen in a while.

Collins does not hold back with honesty or vulnerability and pours his soul onto the page. This collection will break your heart and mend it just in time to break it again. I had to stop reading multiple times to process the emotions these poems evoke.

The collection is made up of six sections, the poems of which differ in form, feeling, and content, but they are all magnificent.
I can't wait to fill my copy with scribbles, thoughts, and annotations.

Whether you like poetry or not, this collection is entirely worth the read.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley for making this available.

I have always loves poetry but it has always been very hit or miss for me. This book was a very big hit. I have been a fan of Collins' work for quite a few years now and while I was reading the book, I kept thinking if I'm liking the poetry so much because of who wrote it or because it was truly good. I have come to the conclusion that it's both.

Collins bared his soul in these poems, at times it felt like reading his private diary, something no one else was meant to read. I'm very grateful for and very astounded by the fact that he dared to be so vulnerable.

The book is separated into six different sections and while the first one was my favourite, they all had poems that stuck with him, hit me personally and left me stunned. I had to stop reading several times to work through what I had just read and I can't wait to hold the physical copy in my hands and annotate it with my thoughts.

It doesn't matter if you're a fan of Collins or not, if you're new to poetry or have been loving it for years, this book is something for everyone.

I struggled all day to find the words for this review. First, I am a fan of Misha’s so of course I was going to read this book. I will honestly say though that I’m a huge poetry fan and just didn’t know going in if it would be good or not (I should have known it would.) but I couldn’t put it down so to speak.

After reading And reflecting, I still don’t know if the right words will come out here. I feel like I just went on an emotional journey. I feel like I just locked myself in a room and read someone’s Diary. I cried. I laughed. I cried some more. I just got punched right in the guts with feelings. I reflected on it ALL day after reading and I went through every emotion imaginable. (Pain, Love, Happiness, sadness)

As I said above I feel like he just threw his diary at us. One of my favorite things though was finding big things in the little things…. Like a blade of grass. I should probably do that way more often. It was very good and if you’re a poetry fan like I am I’m willing to bet you’ll love it. (I’m actually sorry I questioned it at first.)

In Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You, Collins invites the reader into a wide view of his world, organized into six categories: Love poems; Hope, joy, running, & other good things; Longing, sadness, running & foreboding; My people (& other people); The parents; and The Kids.

Throughout this poetry collection, strangers are as present and real as friends and loved ones. Collins gives equal weight to both the simple (but not easy) meditation on a broken piece of grass on a sunny sidewalk as to a summer rainstorm as a symbol for the passage of time and how we choose to receive it. The same weight to the random, day-to-day interactions with strangers that leave an impression on us as to the difficulty connecting with parents in adulthood and the regression to childhood fears and feelings that these interactions can trigger, working through the impact of adverse childhood experiences (Collins writes about his family’s experience with poverty and has written elsewhere about periods of experiencing homelessness). And the same weight to life as it exists as to the longing for things already within reach, for things slipping away, and for things that are yet possibilities.

While there is levity to be found in descriptions of a childhood game or in the mundanity of lawn care, there is an intensity to most of the poems - many of them infused with an aching, longing, and striving for purpose. It would not be surprising to see a description of the poems as “raw” become worn in reviews, and rightly so.

There can be a natural inclination (which his poem “Negativity Bias” touches on) to question the place of a person known for one role (actor) to step into another (poet), and how this is sometimes seen as a vanity project. Collins’ skill as a poet speaks for itself throughout this collection in answer to that supposition.

Collins writes, he says, mostly for himself; if you don’t like it, he welcomes you to set it down at any time.

Not that you’ll want to.

I should be honest upfront: I don't read poetry books — at least not in earnest. The most exposure I've had is the classics like Byron and Shakespeare they made me read in high school for a book report.

It's not that I don't like poetry, I just had a preconceived notion that poetry was random, non-linear, couldn't really tell a story outside of a few lines with vague guesses as to what it meant. I also sometimes felt like poetry may be too personal for me to read, that I'm viewing someone's internal thoughts and feelings. Snapshots into peoples' lives, knowing intimate details about how they viewed the world was too intense for me.

But, I promised myself I'd read this. I wanted to be supportive, I wanted to broaden the reading box I usually stayed in (historical LGBTQAI books, thrillers, etc etc), and I wanted to see if I could challenge myself to read something written by someone who I've seen a public persona from for eight years, and also had preconceived notions for, but still read it with an open mind.

I am giving it five stars because I thoroughly enjoyed it. It kept me on my toes, kept me thinking, all while drawing out emotions I didn't think I'd have reading poetry.
While reading it, I kept imagining it like a rollercoaster.

Not a crazy one that whips you from side to side and breaks your bones with heavy g-forces — but rather one that rolls up and down, providing enough of a swoop to catch you off guard in the best way (or the worst way), all while providing enough stability to make you want to never get off the ride. You're given views of vivid flowers, trees, and a lonely but peaceful countryside. But, also on the ride, you also see burnt-out landscapes, a harsh winter sky, and another pang of loneliness but the lingering kind you can't shake.

There were three pairs of poems that had me rereading them three or four times. They were easy but also layered reads that felt like they revealed something each time. Going back and forth, back and forth was addicting and I had to tell myself I had to move on otherwise I'd be there all day.

But it wasn't just those six poems — all of them had that but to different intensities. Each one didn't feel overbearing and stressful, though some got awfully close and with two of them I did actually feel myself almost tear up.

They mostly didn't make it easy to turn the page.

There were shorter ones that did loosen its grip — they still made you think and feel but freed your mind enough to move on — only to be caught up in the next one before you could truly collect yourself.

The poems have little details that if I wasn't truly paying attention, I'd miss some key admissions tucked away in the lines. It helped add to the story, the confusion, the context for other things I read later on.

The book shattered the preconceived notions I had about the author and about the world of poetry itself. I know not every writer is the same, but this book, like with most rollercoasters, just made me yearn for another ride.

Misha Collins is an actor, poet, and activist. Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You is a collection of deep and personal poems from Collins’ life. He shares nostalgic moments of falling in love, self-discovery, reflection, and sentimental stories about his parents, wife, and children.

I am a huge fan of Collins and first discovered him in 2008 on the hit TV show, Supernatural. Since then, I’ve been invested in his personal endeavors such as his writings and his work in philanthropy. I’ve had the opportunity of meeting Collins twice, and these poems allow his fans and new readers to know him on a more personal level. Whether you are familiar with Collins’ work or not, there are beautiful poems about appreciating the simple joys in life, small observations, and relatable life moments that we can all appreciate and connect with. My favorite poems include “Clasped”, “Fall Back”, “These Hours”, “In Passing”, “Watershed”, “Fire and Water”, and “In My Hotel Bed.”

Collins includes a blend of longer and descriptive poems along with ones that are short and sweet. Each piece leaves a lasting impression and allows room for the reader’s own interpretation. I have been looking forward to this book for months and it did not disappoint. Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest review and the opportunity to experience this book firsthand. Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You will be released on October 12th, 2021 and is available for pre-order now on Amazon.

Misha Collins’ poetry book will shatter you into pieces and stitch you back together. There's a type of rawness to it, like you're stepping in and out of the pages of his life. You feel his happiness and his pain and his joy. It's beautiful.

This was a really pleasant surprise! I had no idea Misha Collins wrote poetry, so I wanted to check this out of curiosity more than anything, but I ended up really loving this connection. He really has a gift for describing the mundane in a very beautiful way. Very personal, vulnerable and impactful.

These poems really got me, They are haunting beautiful introspective and timely. I would highly recommend this book of poetry for any reader.

Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You, the upcoming poetry book release by self-proclaimed “actor, baker, candlestick maker” Misha Collins, is an emotional rollercoaster from the beginning to the very end.
I was provided with a free ARC of Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You. The opinions shared are my own.

Misha Collins, best known for his portrayal of the angel Castiel in The CW’s Supernatural, released his critically acclaimed cookbook The Adventurous Eaters Club: Mastering the Art of Family Mealtime in 2019 alongside his former partner, Victoria Vantoch. This sophomore release from the actor cements his place in a different realm of literature entirely: poetry. While selections of Collins’ poems have been published in other anthologies such as Columbia Poetry Review, Pearl, and California Quarterly, the upcoming release, Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You is his first solo publication, and it certainly makes a name for itself.

For those who are already fans of Misha Collins’ work, Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You is a candid and yet raw look into the actor’s thoughts and private life. Eagle-eyed readers familiar with his past works (and past resumes) will be sure to spot interesting easter eggs littered throughout the book. Every line will surely be broken down and analyzed on Tumblr for years to come. Those unfamiliar with the actor’s work will be treated to a fascinating balance of both mundanity and deeply thought-provoking prose, often within the same poem or the same verse. It takes a deep measure of talent to seamlessly transition from complaining about the iPhone’s user experience issues to questioning the meaning of your place in the world without it feeling clunky or forced, but Collins manages to balance whimsy and emotional gravitas exceptionally well.

Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You splits its works into six sections that take the reader on an emotional journey through the work and through life itself. The first section is one of love poems, an adventure through all of life’s different forms of love, from romantic love solidifying into the dependable, always-by-your-side kind of love. It travels through the romantic nights, reminiscing on the past, the brutal honesty of true love, and the times that it’s harder to be honest. As Collins’ life becomes more complicated and complex, it seems that at times he feels like more of an observer in his own life than an active participant with the power to effect change. A growing sense of a lack of place in the world accompanies a sense of anticipatory grief and foreboding that takes over the tone of his work in this section.

The next sections chronicle an interesting subversion to the picturesque expectation of the life of a Hollywood actor as Collins writes about depression, loneliness, self-doubt, longing for a clear purpose, and the difficulty of being away from his family for long periods of time. All of this culminates in a truly gut-wrenching set of poems regarding Collins’ recent separation from his wife of nearly 20 years. Collins’ beautiful and vibrant adoration of her in all of the prose leading up to this point makes these poems some of the most difficult to read, especially for those familiar with the truly fracturing feeling of such heartbreak.

However, Collins does not dwell on the sadness for too long and quickly thereafter picks up a tone of remarkable resilience, recalling the comfort of deep conversations, road trips, and the other people important to him in his life. Longtime friend and filmmaker Darius Marder receives a specific callout by name in the touching poem “Marder”. Collins reflects on his parents and speaks about the bittersweet sorrow of watching our parents grow older, our change in perspective of our parents as we age, the too-invasive nosiness that some mothers adopt as they get older, and how being a child of divorced parents has changed his own personal outlook.

The last section focuses on Collins’ children, the subject of the book’s dedication and his clear guiding light moving forward. He notes his personal journey from observing the children of others, to discovering his own impending fatherhood, and the immense joys (and challenges) of children, from the wonderful highs to the “it’s 3 am and you just peed the bed again but I really don’t want to get up and change the sheets” slightly less highs.

He addresses the strikingly true reality of how much children can change a relationship that few are willing to address. All of this, of course, are things a parent treasures, as they know these young years are few and numbered, and this is a feeling that Collins captures beautifully. He seems solidly determined to use the experience he’s gained in life and love throughout the writing of the book to make the future better for his children. One could even be forgiven for hearing the notes of Hamilton’s “Dear Theodosia” playing in their ear whilst reading of Collins’ devotion to his children, as the clear drive to do better by them rings true throughout the work.

A few poems that left a particularly deep impact on me, that I would advise other readers to keep an eye out for while reading: “Devil in the Details”, “These Hours”, “ Fire and Water Part One: Absolution”, “Men in Woods”, and “The Last Poem”.

Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You is truly a remarkable trip through all of life’s mundanities and pivotal moments. It takes the time to stop and ponder on all of life’s intricacies and pitfalls in a way that reminds the reader to stop and enjoy life, and serves as an important reminder to be present in every moment and not just let life pass you by. It is truly, as the book’s description states “a love letter to simple joys”.

It gets 5/5 Stars from me!

Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You will be released on October 12, 2021. It is currently available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indie Bound, BAM!, and Bookshop.

This review has been crossposted from: https://thegeekiary.com/some-things-i-still-cant-tell-you-by-misha-collins-is-an-upcoming-must-read/99773

"As if painting in / Your waking hours / With textures, tastes, / And geographies / Will make you / More real to me / And close the space between us."

First thank you Netgalley and Andrew McMeels Publishing for allowing me access to the ARC of this poetry collection! And thank you Misha Collins for writing these wonderful pieces.

Subtly devastating and harshly honest, I feel like Collins has shared an old wound with me. I cannot wait to get my physical copy so I can highlight, underline and love these poems even more.

An impressive debut collection. In turns vulnerable and nostalgic, joyful and funny, self reflective and slightly concerning, Some Things I Still Can't Tell You captures a well lived life in snapshot poems. The dry wit and humor is exactly what fans of the author's other work will expect, but the stunningly visual prose really stands out. It's surprisingly atmospheric, as a whole, and evokes a strong emotional response throughout. Fans will recognize a few poems that have been previously released on their own, such as June Second, Old Bones and Present. Tense. The structure of the collection breathes new life into these familiar poems though, and provides context that will have even old fans ruminating on lines long since memorized. The author plays with structure, both of individual poems and the collection overall, even occasionally referencing back on itself, which makes multiple read throughs especially satisfying.

I dearly hope that this is merely the first book of poems that Misha Collins puts out, because his talent for writing poetry is undeniable.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel for providing me with an advanced copy to review.

Misha Collins, best known for his fictional portrayal of a fallen angel, will have readers falling in love with this intimate insight in to his very real life in his first, highly anticipated publishing of his poetry. Collins was most recently published in Columbia College Chicago’s Columbia Poetry Review in 2019, has expanded his love for the verse art in to his own work, captivating the reader with his ability to create a combination of imagery and emotion through delicately used wording, allowing this author’s tone to fully express how each of these poetic moments, whether it is love, heartbreak, or silliness to be felt, making we as the readers feel a little closer to knowing some of those things, he still can’t tell us. A fantastic, freshman collection of poetry that will be enjoyed by even the most novice of poetry readers , all the way up to the most seasoned of poets and readers.

This is the most emotional poetry book I've read in a long time. I was interested to see what Misha Collins' poetry would be like, and it didn't disappoint. It never feels like Collins is trying too hard to be a certain way. The poems feel honest and real, and relatable at times. They're just pure.

I really, really enjoyed this work. It made me feel lots of feeling throughout, and that's the goal, right? Recommended for anyone who enjoys poetry, feeling feelings while reading, fans of Misha Collins, and people looking for a short read with substance. This will be a great autumn read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an e-ARC.

Turning the proverbial page in his career from his long-time stint on Supernatural, Misha Collins is entering a new era of creativity by revisiting old ones in his debut poetry collection Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You. While Collins has published standalone poems and been featured in literary journals such as California Quarterly and Columbia Poetry Review, this compendium marks his first comprehensive collection of poetry.

To lay all my cards on the table, I’m by no means a poetry buff. In fact, while beautiful, the superfluously flowery language that’s typical of some poetry has often left me feeling bereft — not necessarily due to a lack of understanding of the text, but a lack of emotional connectivity. The style that Collins writes in isn’t overly loquacious, and that’s what I like about it. Its beauty lies in its simplicity; it’s direct, yet accessible.

However, don’t mistake this simplicity for banality. Every poem in the collection is so clearly infused with emotion and layered with meaning. The pieces leave fans with the ability to gain insight into Collins’ life while simultaneously seeing themselves and their own experiences plastered on the page. This collection of poems is a cobbled-together tribute to the every day, a candid look into moments in Collins’ life and the lens that he views it through. It’s an organized hodgepodge of the roller coaster of ups and downs one experiences in life.

Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You is an exploration of the mundane, finding beauty, finding meaning, finding emotion in the smallest of moments. It’s an ode to the human experience as seen through Collins’ niche adventures. Snapshots of his life spill out onto the page as Collins allows the reader to see and feel and sense what he experienced in these moments. And even while reading about these specific events and episodes in his life, the reader is able to imbue the work with their own interpretation by conveying themes common to the human experience, therefore allowing readers to find connections and insight into their own lives.

By the time you’ve finished Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You, you’ll have traversed a myriad of points on the spectrum of human emotion. You’ll have laughed, you’ll have cried. You’ll have sighed longingly and felt the acute heartache that Collins paints a picture of and mirrors through his prose. Joy, sadness, grief, yearning. Reverence, loss, emptiness, disquietude. And wonder. An ever-present sense of marvel at the world around you regardless of the circumstances.

This set of poems, burned onto the page with the ink of a pen, woven, bound, and threaded together by an evocative sense of vulnerability, serves as a reminder to simply stop and be present above all else. A love letter to life, it reminds one to be present enough in your life to truly live it. To let the emotions wash over you, to find the extraordinary in the supremely ordinary. To feel the sun on your skin, and the burn in your legs. To let the grief crack your heart open, and to let that space fill with new highs and lows and triumphs and sorrows. To simply live and appreciate the living.

And while it briefly touches on the deeply unsettling questions that plague humanity like “Why am I here?”, “Where am I going?”, and “What do I have to say?”, the questions that push us to always aspire to be more, it never fails to remind us to bask in the tumultuous chaos of existence — emotional complexities, joyous simplicities, and all.

Misha Collins’ debut poetry collection is one that you truly won’t want to put down. Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You releases on October 12. The book is currently available for purchase/pre-order now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indie Bound, Books-A-Million, and Bookshop. As always, stay tuned for more updates on Collins’ work.