Declarations of Hunger

by Reed Smith

The debut poetry collection of Reed Smith.

Genres: Poetry

72 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2025

Reviews

[andra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a nice poetry book, loved and related to some poems of Reed’s Smith!

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

“If memory is hunger, there is starvation in every corner of the mind for what we remember we had.”

Declarations of Hunger presents us with Reed Smith’s debut poetry collection, which is steeped in the memories of his home. We are gifted with poems that represent small glimpses and memories of his childhood and family, of fear and wonder, as well as impressions of who we are and how we fit into our environments.

His work is thoughtful and I felt his words quietly growing on me the more I read. This book made me feel like I was outside on a chilly winter day, going for a walk, my boots crunching through snow. It made me think of the cornfields I lived next to as a child and driving by the cows on nearby farms and the baled hay spread distantly in the empty, wheat-colored fields and an orange sky over grassy plains. A very nostalgic and provocative read; many lines will live with me for a very long time. It also made me think deeply on the relationships we as humans perpetuate on nature and the earth itself.

My favorite pieces: Birthday Reminders for the Dead, Reflections, How Deep is the Ocean? and Life Goes On.

I would recommend this book to those looking for a beautifully written poetry collection and even to those who may be new to poetry. This is one to read again and again.

Smith’s debut collection will be released on March 15th, 2025. Thank you to @brooklynartspress for providing this book for review consideration via @netgalley. All opinions are my own.

[Anne's book habit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this collection!
My favorite poem was The Voices of the Mind, not just for its beauty but also its relatability. I think Smith captured in this work what so many of use experience, of how these things people 'don't mean anything by' get stuck in your head.
The line that stuck with me the most however was from Bowel of Apples.
"Living has a certain ring to it. Dying just won't do."
There is something almost lyrical to this line that make it sound like it belongs on the radio.


Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me to review an ARC of this book!
🫑

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. A collection of small, brief poems that evoke the feeling of going through old photographs, and having brief memories come back. These are poems you need to sit with for a while - they weren't all for me, but some of them painted beautiful imagery. I wish I could have resonated on a deeper level with the book as a whole.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[ragigii]

Thanks to NetGalley for arc!
As someone who’s trying to get into poetry, I fear this one wasn’t the best to start with. If you’re someone very familiar with poetry and layered prose, then I would highly recommend this. It’s short and brief. But there were definitely some lines that left me breathless for a moment. Reed Smith definitely knows what he’s doing. I think this is one of those books that would be even better on a reread.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved and related to a few poems throughout this work. As I find myself still working my way into the space of poetry and its art form, i found myself lost in a few poems. I will be circling back to this for a reread in hopes of further clarity of the work and a deepened appreciation that will come with understanding.

Thank you to the author and NetGallery for the advanced reader copy. 

[Kristiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this collection, in return for a fair review.

Reed Smith's poetry collection, Declarations of Hunger is a superb debut and establishes Smith as a poet to watch.

Smith is concise and economical with their language and imagery, and I adore how the intertwine the subjects 'body' with 'environment' to sketch a landscape of human nature nestled in the bosom of nature's beauty and power.

Smith also strikes a balance between confessional poetry and writing from a third person perspective. Both styles explore nature in a visceral and pointed way, ensuring we are enveloped and immersed in the poet's chosen places.

[sami (semi-hiatus)]

dnf. the author's work seems fantastic but it's just not for me and i could not will myself to finish it. perhaps this wasn't the right book to choose to get into poetry. however, if you're into complex prose that explores deeper meanings, this might be the book for you!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

[Bri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful but burdened collection on hope for a better world, for hunger & types of love and longing not too far from our reaching. I’ll be returning to these poems over and over!

[Coralie thebookish_mess]

Firstly I enjoyed this poetry book and it was really well written. Reading poetry is always a strange experience for me because it can be really well written but I will not relate to the poem so not much of an emotional connection. Or it could be less well written but I will have an emotional connection to some of the poem. In this case, it is more of example 1. However, it seems really promising for a first poetry collection, and I would love to read more of Reed Smith's poems. It may also be that despite my interest in poetry, I don't have a long experience reading them so I don't understand well enough the meaning behind each poem.

The main critique I have now is more on the book as an ebook than the content of the book. Reading poetry on an e-reader is not the best way to consume poetry (in my opinion). Poems are written with a certain form (number of words in a line, x paragraph ...) and this is well displayed in a physical format. Being able to change the font size changes that. One thing that can help ( and I have already seen that in some poetry books I have read on my Kindle like "deaf republic" by Ilya Kaminsky) is when the publisher writes at the beginning of the book which font size is the most accurate to the paper version to have the better reading experience possible of the author's work.

That being said, thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC of this poetry book in exchange for a review.

[Maria Josefin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this debut collection of poems. The author uses lots of imagery and created clear pictures in my mind. The poems are reflective, tragic in a beautiful sort of way and invokes nostalgia even though me and the author have nothing in common and grew up on different sides of the planet. My favorite poems where Peau D’orange, How deep is the ocean, Challenger and Sense of time. My issue (and the reason I can’t give this collection more than three stars) is that I found it hard to really connect to most of the poems even though I found them well written. Most of them just didnt really hit me the way I wanted them to. There was just something missing. Maybe I’m not really the taget audience, but I’m happy I read it and would recommend anyone to give it a go as well.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for letting me read this book early.

[Iara Moure · Rating 2 out of 5]

La colección debut de poesía de una de las nuevas voces prometedoras que impulsa la escena poética estadounidense. Profundamente arraigada en la atmósfera, las esperanzas conservacionistas y la humanidad, mientras resulta sorprendente en ciertos aspectos, la obra de Reed Smith desafía las nociones de quiénes somos y cómo encajamos en nuestros entornos sociales y ecológicos. Sin embargo, algunos poemas pueden sentirse excesivamente abstractos o desconectados, lo que podría alienar a lectores que buscan un enfoque más directo. Además, en ciertos momentos, el enfoque en la temática ambiental parece forzado, restando autenticidad a la emoción y la narrativa. Aunque contiene destellos de brillantez, la colección a veces peca de ser demasiado experimental para su propio bien.

[Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is undeniably good poetry; however, I cannot surmise what it is about. From the surface, I see writing about the cycles of land, human desperation, greed. Themes of decay & destruction.

Perhaps it is as plain as it seems. I doubt that—I think instead, that the deeper story is not for me. I can’t see it because I don’t understand. Regardless, it is beautiful.

Thank you #NetGalley for providing this digital ARC.

[ni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this collection of poems to be well-written and full of intense imagery. While I didn't find the deeper story within some poems, they were still interesting to read.

One of my favorites was Resuscitation. It felt nostalgic and beautifully encompassed the passage of time for all things. Others, like Tree of One, I enjoyed for reasons I can't quite describe.

This collection is one I will reread and take a closer look.

[Joe Pan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The debut collection of poetry from one of the bright new voices driving the American poetry scene. Deeply rooted in atmosphere, conservationist hopes, and humanity, while be utterly surprising, Reed Smith’s work challenges the notions of who we are and how we fit into our social and ecological environments.

[Catherine Pratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book of poetry. It really makes you think about what the author is trying to say. Sometimes you will get it right away other times you have to put the book down and really think. Its a great book and would recommend it to everyone who loves poetry.

I received a A free copy of the book and is voluntarily writing a review

[Sabs ✨️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC 5 ⭐️

Declarations of Hunger by Reed Smith is a beautiful collection of poetry which have such a strong but lyrical style that I loved. I think this is a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves poetry.

Thank you, NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and Reed Smith, for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.

[Renee Godding · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of poetry with a strong sense of place and rooting in nature and the world around us. Lyrical nature writing at its best, with a focus on not just our natural ecological systems, but our social ones as well.
Stand-out poems to me included;
- Fall in the Conejos
- Recurrences
- Stone Figures
- Resuscitation

[Destiny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really lovely collection of poetry–there are a few that didn't quite strike a chord with me but the majority I loved and will definitely be returning to on a reread. Fall in the Conejos and Stone Figures in particular are two that I'm still thinking about.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

If you like poetry and regularly read deeper more layered and insightful work then you will love this. If however you are just dabbling, or are moe familiar with shorter more direct works, this might not be for you. Really good for reading a bit between other things.

[Lorren · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s hard to review poetry because it is so subjective, but this collection was just okay for me. There were some powerful images but I just didn’t respond emotionally to most of the collection.

[Erika Sarutobi · Rating 2 out of 5]

RTC

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a knife held too tight in a desperate man's fist.

[Karina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the writing. It seems to have been written thoughtfully. Most of the scenes portrayed were also clear. I just failed to connect with most of it.