Gospel of a Whole Sun

by Katerina Jeng

From community activist and poet Katerina Jeng, a lyric exploration of the author’s journey back to her voice, her power, and the truest version of herself.

Gospel of a Whole Sun is a moving collection of poetry chronicling one woman’s journey of self-discovery over the course of three pivotal years. It documents the aftermath of a traumatic breakup, navigating anti-Asian violence during a global pandemic, coming out, and, ultimately, falling in love with life again.

A joyous and inspired debut from a gifted creator and healer, Gospel of a Whole Sun is a poignant look at the relationship of art-making to personal liberation.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2024

Reviews

[Hannah-Renea Niederberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection has a lot of heart, there were a few pieces that I thought were extremely well done. However, overall, this missed the mark for me as a book.

Holistically, I wish there had been more curation done. Many of the poems were bookended by mostly blank pages with small phrases. I feel like Jeng was intending for those pages to have a quiet impact, a contemplative punch, but I'm afraid that to me, these pages felt like placeholders. I don't know that they necessarily worked as transitions between more complete pieces.

While I really liked some of the poems, I felt like others were almost there, but maybe needed a little more time in revisions. There were a few mixed metaphors that took me out of things. There were areas where the meter struggled to flow. It was a little frustrating because, when placed alongside poems that were really good, the ones that fell short felt like missed opportunities. I think this collection had a lot of potential. Overall, I am interested to see what Jeng writes in the future as they hone their craft because there's a lot of good bones here.

[acorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poetry book that made me feel reassured, inspired, and seen ❤️🌞

[Yash Majalikar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soft and personal. A sweet read ✨

[Casper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore the imagery, especially the food imagery in this book. I specify the food imagery because it is prevalent but also I feel particularly effective for the type of soft but steadfast love I feel coming through these pages. I also found the alliteration that appears frequently here to work for me in a way alliteration doesn't always do. I'm not a poetry critic so tl;dr i really liked it

[Elisa Fu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the representation and validation that I needed that was unmet by other similar popular poetry that is currently out there. Asian American diaspora- the rawness, the discussion of feelings so unlike the mindscape I have been pigeonholed into- Gospel of a Whole Sun has been so helpful in unleashing the creativity and the humanity in me. Thank you Jeng.

[Jade Bartlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

First five star book of the year. I was perusing the poetry section at Chapters one day. Leafing through this book, I happened to flip to “Aspirations II” and saw my name—Jade. I knew then that I had to buy it.

[Bethany G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished it and already want to read it again!! Wow!!

[cam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has such a special place in my heart

[Joyce Jowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good I immediately gave it to someone it made me think of and bought myself another copy.

It gave me a lot to think about - in terms of myself, my community, queer belonging, things I still need to learn, and the list goes on and on.