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cstefko's review
4.0
4.25 stars
I really enjoyed this collection. Jones works with a variety of forms and it keeps the collection moving at a nice pace. I particularly liked the series of Harriet Tubman poems. Definitely recommend this one!
I really enjoyed this collection. Jones works with a variety of forms and it keeps the collection moving at a nice pace. I particularly liked the series of Harriet Tubman poems. Definitely recommend this one!
skersh68's review
5.0
Ashley M. Jones is Alabama's Poet Laureate for 2022 through 2026.
dark//thing is a collection of poems by Jones that tells how the world around us views black people. To be honest, it's the way some black people view themselves because these ideas and opinions have been forced upon us. I describe this collection of poetry as the kind that pulls at your heartstrings. The kind of poetry that hits you in the face because the truth is being told. I thought while reading this book that I would pull a few poems out that I considered my favorite but all of them spoke to me in one way or another. Especially the poems about hair. These are stories I can relate to or I know someone who can relate. This will definitely be a re-read for me in the upcoming year.
dark//thing is a collection of poems by Jones that tells how the world around us views black people. To be honest, it's the way some black people view themselves because these ideas and opinions have been forced upon us. I describe this collection of poetry as the kind that pulls at your heartstrings. The kind of poetry that hits you in the face because the truth is being told. I thought while reading this book that I would pull a few poems out that I considered my favorite but all of them spoke to me in one way or another. Especially the poems about hair. These are stories I can relate to or I know someone who can relate. This will definitely be a re-read for me in the upcoming year.
zabeishumanish's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
These poems are steeped in a black culture where I found myself constantly reaching for reference material. The whole collection made me think and feel, and I can see how the poems would resonate deeply with someone who understands all the cultural touchstones.
Someday, mother, I will inherit that sweet bouquet / of cocoa butter, Blue Magic, kitchen smoke and calm night air, / the perfume of black motherhood.
("Harriette Winslow and Aunt Rachel Clean Collard Greens on Prime Time Television", 15)
I appreciated how several different poems in the collection referenced the same event in Ashley’s life, like her kindergarten best friend and Jheri curl. Having multiple opening references to common events looped the poems together in a super well-rounded way. I loved how these common references brought the collection together.
Instead of sharecropper, factory worker, cleaner-of-white-house, / why not start an Etsy shop?
("Broken Sonnet for the Decorative Cotton for Sale at Whole Foods", 58)
The stand-out poems in the collection for me were, “Harriette Winslow and Aunt Rachel Clean Collard Greens on Prime Time Television”, “Election Year 2016: The Motto”, “I Am Not Selected For Jury Duty The Week Bill Cosby’s Jury Selection Is Underway”, and “Broken Sonnet for the Decorative Cotton for Sale at Whole Foods”. A section early in the collection is dedicated to poems about Harriet Tubman. While the stand out of that section, for me, was “Harriet Tubman, Beauty Queen or Ain’t I A Woman?”, all the poems in the section were an impressive blend of informative and artful.
My nose?—it will snort the whole damned / Mason Dixon in one drag.
("Harriet Tubman, Beauty Queen or Ain't I A Woman?", 29)
Heavy use of epigraph through the collection. The epigraphs pay homage to poets, people, and events that inspired the specific poems. Some epigraphs provided context for the poem. My favorite epigraphs were quotations pertaining to the subject matter of poems. Poems with stand-out epigraphs were, “Harriet Tubman, Beauty Queen or Ain’t I A Woman?” and “There Is A Bell At Morehouse College”.
we did not know these / meals: hogshead cheese, canned sausage, / rice and rice and rice, // told us we weren’t rich— / we thought, delicacy, treat, / what steak could top this?
("Hoghead Cheese Haiku", 78)
Ashley plays with form a lot in this collection. In some cases I appreciate the way she has broken the mold, in others, her form is so odd I found the message of the poem unreadable. The first bizarre form is “Proof at the Red Sea” which is both set up as a geometric proof and contains a graph used in the proof. While the poem looks cool, and I may just not understand enough religious references, I found it incomprehensible. One of the form poems that did make sense was “love /luv/“ which is written as a dictionary definition. Italicized segments of prose poems are separated by the many bolded definitions of love. In this poem, the unique form elements are so integrated with the poem that the form only enhances the poem without detracting from it. The poem “XYLOGRAPHY” depicts a chart of lynchings by state and race. The poem is written into the key of the chart. I believe that each footnote from the chart can be read individually or together. The individual or togetherness is cool in theory, but in practice, I didn’t understand and overall message beyond what exists with the chart as a stand-alone. Other poems that play with form with varying effects are, “I See a Smear of Animal on the Road and Mistake it for Philando Castile” —highly effective, “There Is A Bell At Morehouse College” —effective, “When You Tell Me I’d Be Prettier With Straight Hair” —confusing, and “(Black) Hair” —would probably read just as well as prose.
octopus_farmer's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
5.0
I picked this up when I read an article about Jones as Alabama’s poet laureate. She and I come from the same major city, so it hit home in a way I have never felt before. You need time to read this. I know I don’t even know all it said after one reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Death
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