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Hopes and Fears: and poems that speak to them
From 2019 to 2023, through one of the most chaotic eras in modern history, Isaac Marion (author of the New York Times bestselling WARM BODIES series) invited his readers to send him their hopes and fears.
Illness. Loss. Uncertainty. The nervous dance of new love. The dangerous allure of solitude. Depression, self-doubt, the flow of time, the sleeping and breathing of everything—how do we do it?
Here are 26 anonymous confessions and 26 poems in response, each one illustrated by the author. They are simple things, written by a poetry outsider in conversational language, stealing ideas from babies, animals, weather patterns, outer space, and psychedelic experience—not to provide "answers" but to ask the questions together, fumbling in the dark, yearning in the direction of daylight.
Illness. Loss. Uncertainty. The nervous dance of new love. The dangerous allure of solitude. Depression, self-doubt, the flow of time, the sleeping and breathing of everything—how do we do it?
Here are 26 anonymous confessions and 26 poems in response, each one illustrated by the author. They are simple things, written by a poetry outsider in conversational language, stealing ideas from babies, animals, weather patterns, outer space, and psychedelic experience—not to provide "answers" but to ask the questions together, fumbling in the dark, yearning in the direction of daylight.
- GenresPoetry
73 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 17, 2023
5 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Marion
25 books4,370 followersAfter 9 years, 4 books, and 1 pretty good movie, R and Julie's story is about to reach its conclusion.
THE LIVING, book 4 of the Warm Bodies Series, is available now.
isaacmarion.com
THE LIVING, book 4 of the Warm Bodies Series, is available now.
isaacmarion.com
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 12, 2023
I fell in love with Isaac's writing with the short story, I Am A Zombie Filled With Love. And when he wrote a novel out of that very story, I pre-ordered it because I loved the story that much. I was not prepared for how much I would love that book. Long story short, I am a long-time hardcore fan of Isaac Marion, and I've always felt his writing would make an excellent poetry book. I was right. This little poetry book came to me at the right time... Just as that short story did all those years ago. And I have fallen in love with his writing all over again.
Second Reading: I love it even more the second time around. It's easy to forget that everyone has hopes and fears that, while not exactly the same, are highly relatable on some level or another. Does it ease the fears or encourage the hopes? Maybe not, but does it take the edge off of the feeling that we are alone in those hopes and fears? Absolutely.
Second Reading: I love it even more the second time around. It's easy to forget that everyone has hopes and fears that, while not exactly the same, are highly relatable on some level or another. Does it ease the fears or encourage the hopes? Maybe not, but does it take the edge off of the feeling that we are alone in those hopes and fears? Absolutely.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2023
Cosmically Beautiful
Isaac Marion has a way of expressing the ways of the world that makes me stop and stare in disbelief. His genuine depth and frankness with imagery is always fun to read and shines especially well in poetry. Dark at times but unerringly hopeful, Marion's poetry is the epitome of simple complexity.
Isaac Marion has a way of expressing the ways of the world that makes me stop and stare in disbelief. His genuine depth and frankness with imagery is always fun to read and shines especially well in poetry. Dark at times but unerringly hopeful, Marion's poetry is the epitome of simple complexity.
June 1, 2023
This little book of poems only mirrors the very reason I love Isaac Marion’s writing. His down to earth, what makes us human insights are so relatable and moving, whether it’s poetry or prose. It always makes me think, makes me feel, teaches me something, and always gives me a feeling of “I wish I would’ve written this myself”.
June 28, 2023
I love poetry, but in the busy cacophony of my life I rarely am in the moment of reading it. When I saw that one of my favorite authors had written a poetry book, I decided to buy it in the hopes that I would designate the time.
I am so glad that I did. I really enjoyed the format of poems as companions to messages he received through his Patreon. There's a lot of uncertainty and anguish in the comments included in the book. The comments are little glimpses into the lives of his patrons and most of them were more relatable than I wish they were.
The poems aren't direct responses to the comments and in a few you get to wonder how the connection was made exactly. Some things were open ended in a way that I enjoy.
As someone who rarely buys poetry books and rarely writes actual reviews, I highly recommend this book.
I am so glad that I did. I really enjoyed the format of poems as companions to messages he received through his Patreon. There's a lot of uncertainty and anguish in the comments included in the book. The comments are little glimpses into the lives of his patrons and most of them were more relatable than I wish they were.
The poems aren't direct responses to the comments and in a few you get to wonder how the connection was made exactly. Some things were open ended in a way that I enjoy.
As someone who rarely buys poetry books and rarely writes actual reviews, I highly recommend this book.
September 24, 2023
These bite-sized poems about the thoughts and situations that keep us up at night or buzz around our brains during the day reminded me why I fell in love with Isaac Marion’s words ten years ago or so. His language is like a soft, comforting blanket, but also like a flashlight that illuminates the thoughts that skitter around the shadows of my brain. Though not every one is a gem, there’s something about the poems in this collection that put me at ease and make me feel seen. “The Injustice of Our Bodies” is one of my favorites of the collection and will be one I return to every now and again.
If you like writers whose words, poetry or prose, you can just get lost in, try this collection on for size.
If you like writers whose words, poetry or prose, you can just get lost in, try this collection on for size.
July 6, 2023
Beautiful, Just Beautiful
This little book of poems absolutely moved my soul. To read so many fears and hopes similar to my own and then read the beautiful poems that go with them made me feel seen and connected to a group of people I have never met. I highly recommend this book.
This little book of poems absolutely moved my soul. To read so many fears and hopes similar to my own and then read the beautiful poems that go with them made me feel seen and connected to a group of people I have never met. I highly recommend this book.
October 11, 2024
LOVED IT! Want more from Isaac Marion!
This book was so healing and a journey in reading.
This book was so healing and a journey in reading.
July 18, 2025
Isaac Marion has such a poignant way of describing the human experience. I was crying by like page 3
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews