Amulet: A Collection of Poetry

by Jason Bayani

This book is a powerful examination of life in America for Filipino Americans and people of Asian descent. Bayani doesn't preach, but he comes across as an energetic pastor, thoughtful, graceful and ready. This arsenal of work he has been sitting on for the past decade is funny, political, well crafted verses that shines a light on what it means to be an American, an artist, A Filipino.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2013

About the author

Jason Bayani is the author of "Amulet" (Write Bloody 2013) and Locus (Omnidawn 2019). A Saint Mary's MFA grad and Kundiman fellow, he's currently the Artistic Director for Kearny Street Workshop in San Francisco.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somewhere between 4.5 and 5 stars and holy wow I loved this so much.

There’s a tangible feeling to each poem in this collection and even the ones that I didn’t necessarily feel a deep connection to still stirred me.

Bayani is a master with words and he really made me feel things, the emotion held in each page seems raw and wild yet he managed to write with the control needed to capture them and I am in awe.

I went into this with relatively high expectations and they were exceeded.

[Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasure to the fil am and the experience, Jason peeled wallpaper off rooms I’ve thought I already slept in. Realizing place(s) and (my) time in them


I would recommend for those looking for words about fists with no walls, a brown experience grounded in the masculine adolescence of what’s around, or for those who just want a nice song to listen to (be it off-key)

Thank you Jason, to many more of your successes

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free ecopy of this from NetGalley.

This was certainly an interesting book of poetry, with some pieces not quite seeming like poems at all, but something larger and grander than that.

The content itself was stellar. It touched on a great deal of themes and issues, especially very complex and difficult ones that the author has, apparently, dealt with in his life. From conflicts with racism, culture, and identity to the loss of language and family. They speak widely and are all told very well, with a comfortable rhythm from poem to poem. Many lead almost seamlessly into the next in a way that keeps you reading and gives a cohesion to the overall experience that improves its readability. Plus, it helps that some issues are dealt with using dry wit and humour, and it's usually done quite well.

Overall, though, I believe that my favourite aspect was the imagery. There were some very excellent metaphors and similes used throughout the book and I found myself highlighting a number of favourites. Bayani does an excellent job at evoking the feelings and images he wants using some truly interesting phrasing that I, personally, loved.

[Jai · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a Jason Bayani poem, sometimes all you can say is, “Damn.” At 84 pages, Amulet may cause excessive cursing. And not just to God, but to other “thing[s] just out of reach” (45), all the hollering forged into an object that will protect us from harm. His hands both a curled fist and a prayer, Bayani waits . . . waits for this noise to take the shape of language. --> READ MORE AT LANTERN REVIEW

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review of Jason Bayani's Amulet: A Collection of Poetry appears in Glint Literary Journal, issue 4, Spring-Summer 2013:

http://www.glintliteraryjournal.com/c...

My copy was provided by Netgalley.

[Lindsey Beat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this.

[Britney]

cool