2023 Feathered Quill Book Awards Gold Medal Winner 2022 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) Gold Medal Winner 2022 Over the Rainbow Short List 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards - Best Poetry Book Finalist 2021 Bookshop's Indie Press Highlights You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson is a queer, political, and feminist collection guided by self-reflection. The poems range from close examination of the deeply personal to the vastness of the world, exploring the expansiveness of the human experience from love to illness, from space to climate change, and so much more in between. One of the most celebrated poets and performers of the last two decades, Andrea Gibson's trademark honesty and vulnerability are on full display in You Better Be Lightning, welcoming and inviting readers to be just as they are.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
November 9, 2021 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781638340164
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781638340164
- File size: 707 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from November 1, 2021
Prominent on the spoken-word poetry scene, Gibson (Lord of the Butterflies) uses incisive language, whiplash vernacular, and strong narrative flow to contemplate the self in a fraught world, often proceeding by insightful near-epigram ("Bitterness is the easiest way/ to leave this world having had only/ a near life experience"). Whether recording the number of goosebumps raised by kindness to animals or a friend's struggle with pain, plumbing relationships joyous or difficult, or facing the challenges of being queer ("Burning for eternity seemed five times/ more doable than another day/ in the school lunchroom"), these poems are refreshingly forthright but never self-serving. VERDICT An accomplished collection from queer feminist poet Gibson; for all audiences.
Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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