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Elvis’s Year In Books

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Ayala, Ileabeth

510 books | 81 friends

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573 books | 68 friends

Ariele Dashow

760 books | 22 friends

Jonathan

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Catherine

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Elvis Alves

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eoalves

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Poetry

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July 2013

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Elvis Alves (www.elvisalves.com) was born in Guyana and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He is a graduate of Colgate University and Princeton Theological Seminary. His work has appeared in several journals and magazines including Poetry Magazine, Sojourners, Transition, Caribbean Writer Journal, and The Applicant. Elvis is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet. He is the author of Bitter Melon (2013), Ota Benga (2017), I Am No Battlefield But A Forest Of Trees Growing (winner of the Jacopone da Todi Poetry Book Prize) (2018), Black/White: We Are Not Panic (Pandemic) Free (2020), Blackfish (2022), and This Is What I Know (2023). His latest book is Exile Is Home (2025). In 2025, he was a finalist for the Poetic Justice Institute Editor's Prize (Fordham Univ ...more

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Elvis Alves’s books

Average rating: 4.58 · 78 ratings · 23 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	Bitter Melon 4.33 avg rating — 42 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ota Benga 4.82 avg rating — 11 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Am No Battlefield but a Forest of Trees Growing 4.86 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Hoot and Hare Review (No. 2) by Scott Michael Craig (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Brian Armstrong (Goodreads Author), Richard Kostelanetz it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blackfish 4.67 avg rating — 6 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Black/White: We Are Not Panic (Pandemic) Free it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Exile Is Home it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	This Is What I Know 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	rainy weather days: Volume 4—Baptized by Fire by D. Aaron Campbell, Elvis Alves (Goodreads Author), Diane Dooley (Goodreads Author) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	rainy weather days: Volume 4—Baptized by Fire by D. Aaron Campbell, Elvis Alves (Goodreads Author), Diane Dooley (Goodreads Author) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Elvis Alves's Blog

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1.are made of silver and gold in the belly of a whalemoving to land full speed ahead of the storm that
catches and de Read more of this blog post »

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Elvis is Currently Reading

Elvis Alves is currently reading

Patterns of Poetry: An Encyclopedia of Forms

by Miller Williams

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Jan 23, 2026 07:08PM

Elvis Alves is currently reading

Black-Eyed Susans and Midnight Birds: Stories by and about Black Women

by Mary Helen Washington

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Mar 28, 2024 03:07PM

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Elvis Alves is now friends with Ali Hazelood
15 hours, 6 min ago · like
Elvis Alves is on page 50 of 222 of Patterns of Poetry Patterns of Poetry: An Encyclopedia of Forms by Miller Williams progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 23, 2026 07:08PM · like · see status
Elvis Alves started reading Patterns of Poetry: An Encyclopedia of Forms by Miller Williams	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 23, 2026 07:08PM · like
Elvis Alves rated a book really liked it Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People – The National Book Award Winner's Cultural Meditation on Race, Blues, and Identity by Imani Perry	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 22, 2026 08:34PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Black in Blues by Imani Perry. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Black in Blues by Imani Perry <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Elvis Alves rated a book really liked it God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
What a wild ride of a read!
Jan 14, 2026 10:56AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Elvis Alves is currently reading God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 05, 2026 09:41AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Elvis Alves rated a book it was amazing The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems by Patricia Smith (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 05, 2026 09:40AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Intentions of Thunder by Patricia Smith. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Intentions of Thunder by Patricia Smith <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Elvis Alves rated a book it was amazing Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 20, 2025 10:52AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Elvis Alves started reading Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People – The National Book Award Winner's Cultural Meditation on Race, Blues, and Identity by Imani Perry Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Nonfiction	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 22, 2025 02:42PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Black in Blues by Imani Perry. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Black in Blues by Imani Perry <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Elvis Alves rated a book it was amazing Exile Is Home by Elvis Alves (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 12, 2025 12:30PM · like

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Elvis’s Quotes

“The world is like a Mask dancing. If you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place.”
― Chinua Achebe

1262 likes

“You might as well answer the door, my child,
the truth is furiously knocking.”
― Lucille Clifton, Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir 1969-1980

tags: inspirational

1869 likes

“Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.”
― Zora Neale Hurston

2459 likes

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
― Nelson Mandela

tags: change, education

6281 likes

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Elvis’s Groups

Goodreads Authors/Readers — 55909 members — last activity 59 minutes ago
This group is dedicated to connecting readers with Goodreads authors. It is divided by genres, and includes folders for writing resources, book websit ...more

¡ POETRY ! — 22568 members — last activity Dec 24, 2025 01:37PM
No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read it!) Goodreads honors wordsmiths: poets and poetry promoted and prompted here. ~~~ "Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits." -- Carl Sandburg “God has a brown voice, as soft and full as beer.” —Anne Sexton On Clouds – “…what primitive tastes the ancients must have had if their poets were inspired by those absurd, untidy clumps of mist, idiotically jostling one another about…” —Yevgeny Zamyatin “If the poet wants to be a poet, the poet must force the poet to revise. If the poet doesn’t wish to revise, let the poet abandon poetry and take up stamp-collecting or real estate.” —Donald Hall “Poetry is a rich, full-bodied whistle, cracked ice crunching in pails, the night that numbs the leaf, the duel of two nightingales, the sweet pea that has run wild, Creation’s tears in shoulder blades.” —Boris Pasternak “Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket.” —Charles Simic “Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity.” —Gustave Flaubert “Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does.” —Allen Ginsberg. ~~~~~ Amy King, Moderator Amy King is the recipient of the 2015 Winner of the WNBA Award (Women’s National Book Association). Her latest collection, The Missing Museum, is a winner of the 2015 Tarpaulin Sky Book Prize. She serves on the executive board of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts and is co-editing with Heidi Lynn Staples the anthology, Big Energy Poets of the Anthropocene: When Ecopoets Think Climate Change. She is also co-editing the anthology, Bettering American Poetry 2015, and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at SUNY Nassau Community College. ...more

GOOD REVIEWS — 8618 members — last activity 9 hours, 15 min ago
This Group is only for authors who are looking for reviews and Reviewers who love to read books and share their reviews.

Support for Indie Authors — 16610 members — last activity 10 minutes ago
Officially 15k Members Strong & Climbing!! Building and supporting a community of self-published authors dedicated to both sharing experiences and le ...more

Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club — 17310 members — last activity 11 hours, 32 min ago
You just found the Official unofficial Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club. We will read the Goodreads Choice Awards winning books throughout the year b ...more

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Elvis’s Friend Comments

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message 2: by Elvis

Dec 13, 2017 04:42PM

For a limited time, read Ota Benga for free on #Kindle, http://amzn.to/2Bjxlk3

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message 1: by Elvis

Oct 27, 2013 09:06AM

Download and read Bitter Melon for free here: http://amzn.to/Hpf9p9 Promotional offer ends 10/28.

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