Testify

by Douglas Manuel

A brave, brilliant debut about the African-American experience in the American Midwest. A contemplation of race, masculinity, religion, and class, Testify in a very personal way confronts some of the most critical issues in today's society. A book of elegiac ambivalence, Testify ’s speaker often finds himself trapped between received black and white, ghetto and suburban, atheism and Catholicism. In many ways, this work is a Bildungsroman detailing the maturation of a black man raised in the crack-laden 1980s, with hip-hop, jazz, and blues as its soundtrack. Rendered with keen attention to the economic decline of the Midwest due to the departure of the automotive industry, this book portrays the speaker wrestling with his city’s demise, family relationships, interracial love, and notions of black masculinity. Never letting anyone, including the speaker, off the hook, Testify refuses sentimentality and didacticism and dwells in a space of uncertainty, where meaning and identity are messy, complicated, and multivalent.

Genres: Poetry

91 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2017

Reviews

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent debut!

"Put that on the black man standing on my shoulders holding his balls. Put that on the black when I am–I am not–on the black man I wish I was."

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw and riveting. I couldn’t put this collection down. Now that I have finished reading it, I will likely pick it up again and again.

[Siel Ju · Rating 4 out of 5]

“No, the present presses and mints / the past into a gold coin / you can’t spend anywhere.”
*
Douglas Manuel’s poems explore uncomfortable boundaries — navigating a black identity across and in between class, race, and gender expectations.

[wmly · Rating 3 out of 5]

very authentic. from the first poem i could tell the author was like “this is me” and i say: respect

some poems felt out of place but i suppose thats how we all are

[Patricia Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a unique and musical talent. There are so many imaginative turns and lines here. Absolutely gorgeous and meaningful imagery. These poems are intensely personal while they evoke modern culture and societal icons.

Some of my favorite moments:

Save those tears. You'll need them later.

Cadavers
step out of my selves.

Ghosts hang from hooks.

I am the boy on the corner waiting to yell police!

I cannot watch the sun even though
I've wrapped it in a vowel and two consonants.

I wore a choke-chain for years,
hoping she would pull.

My lips hate one another, so I can't shut up.

[Tony Dietz · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Put that on the black man I am-I am not-on the black man I wish I was."
I am not black, or American, but Douglas Manuel's poems spoke to me like few others have. Perhaps it was losing my mother and my father as a young man, perhaps it is missing my brother, but mostly it is the voice, the images, the searing heat of his words. This short volume is a window into and a journey through his experience. It is a gift. I dipped into it here and there, but it wasn't until I read the whole volume from cover to cover that the impact of the last poem "The Cripple and the Crackhead" shattered me.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

During my current foray into poetry--which I have avoided for most of my life because of all the bad poetry encountered in zines and those pretentious poets one comes across in life--I've read some gems. I couldn't get into this one as much.

Don't get me wrong--this collection is good. The poems are mostly short, heavy, and say a lot with a few words that conjure evocative images and stark realities of the past.

[Charlie Eskew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shit. This book of poetry and its awesomeness can't be overstated. Manuel's approach in handling loss, in handling contradiction, in handling interracial relationships, at the ways we have to just be is masterfully done throughout. I think "Give Me My Mamma Back" particularly is going to tear and break and basically everything I can say for destroy me over and over again, and I mean that as the highest of compliments to the piece.

[Kathryn Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read. Manuel’s masterful poetry hits home at every turn and really opens the reader’s eyes to truth after truth. His writing is so strong and lovely, biting and raw yet somehow gentle, and most importantly, relatable. Reading this feels like having a deep, necessary conversation with a good friend.

[Haley Bee Bird]

had the honor of seeing to douglas manuel perform some of his poetry about a month ago! wowww! what an incredible speaker! and the sweetest guy too.

me and ada got some of his work and i’ve slowly been making my way through his debut, he is an incredibly raw writer and his stories on family are so inspiring to me. i loved it!

[Christopher Soriano-Palma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these poems. Douglas Manuel has written one of the best collections I have read yet.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

TESTIFY is destined to be one of 2017's best books of poetry. Douglas Manuel's poems are gorgeous, gutting, and original. TESTIFY is a stunning, not to be missed debut.