Here We Are, Reflections of A God Gone Mad

by Té V. Smith

Expressed in three parts: GOD, LOVE, & WAR; Here We Are, Reflections of A God Gone Mad is a collection of poetry, short stories, dialogue, fiction, and more. This is a brave and unashamed journey to understand the complexities of our divine and deeply flawed humanity. I’m so grateful to have shared this work from Harvards' Lowell Hall to Southern Ilinois University in my mothers hometown of East St. Louis. This book is for anyone searching, on their path to, honestly, confront themselves, God, and the freedom in ruin, forgiveness, acceptance, and restoration.

Genres: Poetry, Theology, Race

280 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2014

About the author

Té V. Smith's debut collection, Here We Are Reflections of A God Gone Mad (2015) was selected for the ESL Emerging Writers Prize. He holds an MFA in Systematic Theology from Western University. Té was the 2015 Sophies Table Writer-in-Residence in Bridgeport CT., a POWER Democracy Fellow, and the 2016 Writer for Dupree International. His poetry, short stories, and essays have appeared or are forethcoming in various journals and online publications including Black Girl In Ohm, Essence, Blavity, The Kenyan Review, and Tin House. His was, most recently, interviewed for Afro Minimalist and was selected as a 2017 Writer-in-Residence, for the Rhode Island Writers Colony. Té divides his time between New Orleans, Brooklyn, and Nigeria. He is working on his debut novel, Nyumbani.

Reviews

[N.L. Shompole · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Wednesdays are now for rain, and roads untraveled.’

Here we Are Reflections of a God Gone Mad is quiet the book. In truth, I wasn’t well prepared to dive into the subject matter it encompasses, and I found myself astounded page after page.

‘Society as
My body
My heart
My god
My love
My rage
My peace
Would all have me
Believe me, incomplete.’

Like the blurb says, this is not a book about religion, but it does encompass conversations and contemplation about faith, religion, God, as well as love, the hardships of life, the black man in relationship to society, history and so much more.

To say the least, I was mind blown by this book. There were passages that I read and thought about throughout the day, and returned to again. There some passages I skipped, and returned to at a later time. Not because they were bad; because they were too complex for the mood I was in.

‘He’s never known
The importance
Of being
Grounded
In something.’

I don’t usually read poetry in order of appearance in a book, but with this book I found that I almost had to in order to glimpse what it was that the author was writing about. There was so much beauty, and pain in this collection, which features prose as well as poetry, that makes me sure that I will return to this book again, in the near future.

‘One day I will laugh and no loneliness will fall out.’

My one issue about this book has nothing to do with the writing, but with how much is in the book, at times I felt like the book could have easily been divided into three books. That being said, Here we Are is worth reading. The only advice I’d give a reader is to come prepared
In conclusion, Here We Are, Reflections of a God Gone Mad is as complex as the title suggests.
Happy Reading.

+Rating
+Last Thoughts
+ 4.5 Stars


This review is part of the
2016 Thrive Reading Series
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[Justin McCain · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing read by an awesome poet

Here we are, reflections of a God gone mad is cunning, filled with amazing imagery and vulnerability from the poet as he opens his heart and reality on the subjects of love, spirituality, religion, family, race and so much more. I fully recommend it be read at least twice for full comprehension

[Ama · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest piece of poetry that soothes the soul !