The Mourner's Almanac: A Poetry Collection

by Elle Rosamilia

Genres: Poetry

113 pages, Paperback

Published April 25, 2025

Reviews

[Aberdeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a marvelous first poetry collection. Elle muses on grief and resurrection, the winters and springs of the soul, built 0n the latticework of the phases of growth: seed, soil, root, yield, and heirloom. I'm always blown away by the depth to which she explores an image in individual poems, as well as how she repeats images and ideas throughout the book with new insight, context, and color each times. Speaking of color, Elle plays a lot with synesthesia, which I don't see represented much in art but I wish I did because it lends itself so well to poetry. She uses weather and art imagery to gently but honestly bear witness to mental health struggles, family pain, and friendship death and healing. Somehow she strikes a balance I yearn for but rarely find between raw authenticity that welcomes lament and courageous hope that testifies to a light we can't yet always see.

An added bonus is the appendix of Elle's essay about how personal aesthetic—an artist's manifesto. It made me reflect on my own art and want to codify my own vision for why I create art and what I think it's purpose is. This is the first of many masterful collections to come.

Favorite poems:
Synesthesia
Biome
My Roommate Describes Depression
Echoes of Eternity
I Have a Panic Attack When We Start to Say Goodbye
Zhongguo
We Meet in the Orchard and Your Silence Says I'm Sorry
The Brave One
The Oracle Receives a Visitor

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

A beautiful collection that I read in one sitting. I’ve been wanting to read Good poetry for several days now, and this was that and more. A beautiful, deep, thoughtful book about love, grief, friendship, loss, gentleness, trauma, healing, and hope—deep, abounding hope. The way “Biome” describes New York City as if it were a living breathing green forest is something that’s going to stick with me for a long while, in particular.

Unrelated to the substance of the poetry, but the formatting and feel and overall Look of this book is so incredibly thoughtful and high-quality, which is all the more amazing seeing as this is self-published. The author clearly spent a lot of time & care & thought making sure The Mourner’s Almanac was as beautiful on the outside as it is on the inside.

Would highly recommend this collection! This will most likely become my go-to suggestion when others ask me for poetry reccs.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will stay for the mosaic of emotions I have yet to feel, the heavy and whole placed side-by-side like stained glass. I will stay to watch sunlight touch both of them, name them beautiful. I will stay to name myself the same.

I knew when I was tearing up over the very first poem (Last Night, I Talked to the Trees) that this would be a rollercoaster of a read - but in the way the weather is varied and no state is unneeded. I'm not sure how Elle Rosamilia's collection feels simultaneously like a soft, sunny morning and a cleansing downpour, but I'm grateful that it does. This collection was lovely to savor; each poem felt like it was quietly inviting the reader to be in dialogue with the imagery and emotion portrayed. (I underlined/annotated a *lot* in my copy!)

I thought the "Garden of Healing" included at the end, an essay exploring the author's purpose as an artist, was such a unique and thought-provoking addition. Among other things, it discusses creativity as a vessel for connection, the necessity of attention in both art-making and art-listening/reading/consuming, and how poetry distills emotions into individual moments (and infuses moments with emotion). I especially liked the thoughts on avoiding pain in art vs. glorifying it, and how only amplifying positive human experiences can be just as harmful.

I consider myself to be an ex-Christian but one thing I really love about Elle's writing is that references to her faith, infused throughout this book, are written with warmth and hope and love. I include this to say that I think this collection can be healing for anyone like me who's been hurt by religion. The essay gave me a lot to think about, and the poems were beautifully varied, grounding, unflinchingly truthful, and ultimately hopeful. <3

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've not read all the poems in this book yet, but I have dipped my toes in. I've been a fan of Rosamilia's work since I found her blog a decade ago (now known as "Amid These Embers") and read every post but rarely, if ever, commented.

I've been waiting to get my hands on this published collection for months, so I am glad to finally savor the poems within.

[Rachel B · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection full of gorgeous imagery and gilded with the soft light of hope - stunning.