I flew through this collection of poems.

I found Reed Smith's collection to be one where I would read, and stop and put the poem down and sit with it for some time. I'd recommend this to anyone, especially those looking for new voices in poetry.

My first time engaging with Smith’s work and I can honestly say it won’t be the last. It was transformative and transportive at the same time.

This book of poems had some very beautiful writing, and I really enjoy the way Smith uses enjambment. I also really liked the pacing and line breaks. The poems were a bit longer than I personally prefer, but overall I think this was a very solid debut collection.

I recommend these poems to people that are afraid to read poems or are feeling intimidated by them. I feel like this author has a way to writing do beautifully and also so challenging, it makes you stop for a bit and just digest what you’ve read.
I’ve read this in one sitting, it was really that good.

Beautiful but burdened collection on hope for a better world, for hunger & types of love and longing not too far from our reaching. I’ll be returning to these poems over and over! Thank you for the opportunity to read this early!

A beautiful collection of poetry with a strong sense of place and rooting in nature and the world around us. Lyrical nature writing at its best, with a focus on not just our natural ecological systems, but our social ones as well.
Stand-out poems to me included;
- Fall in the Conejos
- Recurrences
- Stone Figures
- Resuscitation

I liked this book of poetry. It really makes you think about what the author is trying to say. Sometimes you will get it right away other times you have to put the book down and really think. Its a great book and would recommend it to everyone who loves poetry.

I received a A free copy of the book and is voluntarily writing a review

Firstly I enjoyed this poetry book and it was really well written. Reading poetry is always a strange experience for me because it can be really well written but I will not relate to the poem so not much of an emotional connection. Or it could be less well written but I will have an emotional connection to some of the poem. In this case, it is more of example 1. However, it seems really promising for a first poetry collection, and I would love to read more of Reed Smith's poems. It may also be that despite my interest in poetry, I don't have a long experience reading them so I don't understand well enough the meaning behind each poem.

The main critique I have now is more on the book as an ebook than the content of the book. Reading poetry on an e-reader is not the best way to consume poetry (in my opinion). Poems are written with a certain form (number of words in a line, x paragraph ...) and this is well displayed in a physical format. Being able to change the font size changes that. One thing that can help ( and I have already seen that in some poetry books I have read on my Kindle like "deaf republic" by Ilya Kaminsky) is when the publisher writes at the beginning of the book which font size is the most accurate to the paper version to have the better reading experience possible of the author's work.

That being said, thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC of this poetry book in exchange for a review.

Declarations of Hunger presents us with Reed Smith's debut poetry collection, which is steeped in the memories of his home. We are gifted with poems that represent small glimpses and memories of his childhood and family, of fear and wonder, as well as impressions of who we are and how we fit into our environments.

His work is thoughtful and I felt his words quietly growing on me the more I read. This book made me feel like I was outside on a chilly winter day, going for a walk, my boots crunching through snow. It made me think of the cornfields I lived next to as a child and driving by the cows on nearby farms and the baled hay spread distantly in the empty, wheat-colored fields and an orange sky over grassy plains. A very nostalgic and provocative read; many lines will live with me for a very long time. It also made me think deeply on the relationships we as humans perpetuate on nature and the earth itself.

My favorite pieces: Birthday Reminders for the Dead, Reflections, How Deep is the Ocean? and Life Goes On.

I would recommend this book to those looking for a beautifully written poetry collection and even to those who may be new to poetry. This is one to read again and again.

Smith’s debut collection will be released on March 15th, 2025. Thank you to Brooklyn Arts Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading this collection!
My favorite poem was The Voices of the Mind, not just for its beauty but also its relatability. I think Smith captured in this work what so many of use experience, of how these things people 'don't mean anything by' get stuck in your head.
The line that stuck with me the most however was from Bowel of Apples.
"Living has a certain ring to it. Dying just won't do."
There is something almost lyrical to this line that make it sound like it belongs on the radio.

Reed Smith's poetry collection, Declarations of Hunger is a superb debut and establishes Smith as a poet to watch.

Smith is concise and economical with their language and imagery, and I adore how the intertwine the subjects 'body' with 'environment' to sketch a landscape of human nature nestled in the bosom of nature's beauty and power.

Smith also strikes a balance between confessional poetry and writing from a third person perspective. Both styles explore nature in a visceral and pointed way, ensuring we are enveloped and immersed in the poet's chosen places.