Stepmotherland (Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize) by Darrel Alejandro Holnes

Stepmotherland (Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize) Reviews

• 
  Rebecca

  An autobiographical odyssey from Panama to Texas, Holnes’s debut collection (winner of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize) ponders split identities through art, current events, and religion. Of African and Chocó descent, the poet describes himself as “Black but not black enough”: a mixed-race background and queerness complicate his access to the American dream. The poems take a multitude of forms, and the erotic and devotional mix in provocative ways. Timely and multifarious, with incisive crosscultural commentary.
  
  See my full review at
  Foreword.
• 
  2TReads

  I didn't think I would read another resonant poetry collection so soon after #Habitus. But here we are.
  
  Holnes blew me away with these poems. With depth and lyrical verve, we move from Panama to America, through dictatorship to invasion and around mother, father, grandmother, friends, lovers and the ways in which he was shaped by their presence.
  
  I could not help but become immersed in these words and their flow that spoke of change, family, love, identity, and place not only within our communities, but our lands of birth and step-lands.
  
  The title speaks volumes of Holnes' experience from his foundational home to a brand new land where his mother had so many dreams of and for. There is celebration of women and sexuality and loss that will truly strike at the core of the reader. It certainly did for me. Definitely a collection that calls for numerous readings.
• 
  Caroline Ashworth

  I really enjoyed this collection. It was both easy to comprehend and thought-provoking.
• 
  James F

  This seems to be my year for reading contemporary poetry. Stepmotherland is this month's book for the World Literature group I am in on Goodreads (the reading for Panama.) The book begins with poems about the author's childhood and adolescence in Panama and the American invasion to oust General Noriega, then deals with his experiences as an immigrant and Hispanic-Black man in the United States. There are many love/erotic poems, some straight and some gay; many pop-culture references (rap stars, Beyoncé, Rihanna and so on) and poems based on works of art. Nearly all the poems were good, although there were a few -- one with sado-masochistic imagery -- that I couldn't relate to.
• 
  Patricia N. McLaughlin

  A stunning debut collection featuring an eloquent poetic voice that explores a wide range of issues from LGBTQ identity to multiculturalism, proving once again that “the personal is political” (hat tip to Adrienne Rich).
  
  Favorite Poems:
  “When My Mother Gives Up Her American Dream to Marry My Father”
  “When Narcos Kidnap JuanFe”
  “The Art of Diplomacy”
  “Bread Pudding Grandmamma”
  “Conception”
  “bar•by”
  “Pieta by Michelangelo: Marble, 1499”
  “Ode to My Father, The Captain”
  “Angelitos Negros”
  “The Down-Low Messiahs”
  “Joseph on Knowledge in the Biblical Sense”
  “Black Parade”
• 
  Patricia Murphy

  A powerful collection with multiple timely themes.
  
  Some of my favorite moments:
  
  The sun mirrors the
  fish-like flesh of the sea.
  
  I avoid
  seeing ghosts by rolling my eyes
  to the back of my head.
• 
  Rolf

  A lovely collection exploring race, sexuality, and immigrant identity. "Poder," "Tú" and "Black Parade" were all standouts for me, especially this line from "Tú":
  
  "But I don't want to be whiter, just free" (p. 21)
• 
  Trevann

  I really enjoyed this body of work. The imagery used was effective and captivating. I loved how the themes were handled. I would recommend this book to poetry lovers and anyone else really.
• 
  Toni Rose

  This is the kind of poetry I enjoy - it tells a story and captures reflection and emotion