Take Me With You

by Andrea Gibson

For readers of Rupi Kaur (Milk and Honey) and Atticus (Love Her Wild), a book small enough to carry with you, with messages big enough to stay with you, from one of the most quotable and influential poets of our time.

Andrea Gibson explores themes of love, gender, politics, sexuality, family, and forgiveness with stunning imagery and a fierce willingness to delve into the exploration of what it means to heal and to be different in this strange age. Take Me With You, illustrated throughout with evocative line drawings by Sarah J. Coleman, is small enough to fit in your bag, with messages that are big enough to wake even the sleepiest heart. Divided into three sections (love, the world, and becoming) of one liners, couplets, greatest hits phrases, and longer form poems, it has something for everyone, and will be placed in stockings, lockers, and the hands of anyone who could use its wisdom.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT, Queer, Nonfiction, Feminism, Romance, Adult

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 23, 2018

About the author

Andrea Faye Gibson was an American poet and activist. Their poetry focused on gender norms, politics, social justice, LGBTQ topics, life, and mortality. Gibson was appointed as the Poet Laureate of Colorado in 2023.

Reviews

[Chelsea SWATCHSEA]

Andrea Gibson prefers they/them pronouns, so can you please stop misgendering them in your reviews?!

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the idea and sentiment of these poems but I feel like the poet barely scratches the surface. It is more like they are presenting the reader with brief sentiments rather than fully developed poems. I feel like there is a lot more there, and using their themes of the intersection of politics and love, love-as-resistance, etc., I would just say, please do more with these ideas.

As they are, they fall into the Instagram/Tumblr poetry category... some compare with Rupi Kaur but I would only agree with that if the comparison is to Rupi's one sentence poems. I would have liked to see the same variety in this work. There is also at least one direct trauma mention, and as I've mentioned previously, I think we need a subgenre or a new word for some of this poetry that seems to be coming out of therapy and trauma. It isn't the same as literary poetry and I keep feeling misdirected when I pick it up. This is not the poet's fault.

I should throw in my usual caveat, in that if you are ten years younger than me and you are exploring what love looks like, especially in an LGBTQ world, these may connect more directly to you.

Thanks to the publisher for providing early access to this through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This volume comes out January 23, 2018.

[Romie · Rating 5 out of 5]

20 October 2017:

This is probably the purest poetry collection I've ever read.

I know poetry is extremely personal, you have to connect to an author's personal experience to really enjoy what this person has to say, and fortunately for me I did connect with Andrea Gibson. They touched my heart on so many levels, reading their poetry collection was a beautiful experience.

There is a huge message of hope hiding behind all these poems, and this collection isn't trying to sell you some easy and polished hope, no, it's telling you ‘here, here's what you can hope for the future, but it won't happen in one day, you'll have to work for it, but trust me it's worth it.’

I simply cannot wait to have this poetry collection in my hands.

IT'S OKAY.
EVERYBODY'S
SURVIVAL LOOKS
A LITTLE BIT LIKE
DEATH SOMETIMES.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

3 February 2018:

I am still so in love with this book of poetry. I bought a physical copy the day it was released because of how much it meant to me when I first read it as an ARC.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the craziest lines collection I have ever read🙃

The pair is just beautiful and damned😉

And so crazily into each other.

The illustration got me. Like...I am in a dream and he is just talking about his girl.
Makes me want to be in love. With a normal human being.

This is the irony of reading such silly, cute books.

There he is describing the one he loves who is different from others and why and how he loves this person for being this person.

And while I am this one, I am thinking about a normal, ordinary being to be in love with.

.....I love reading so much!!!!!!!!!!

This also includes staring at the illustrations...like I am going to live forever.

I need more silly books with good illustrations like this!💋

[Beatrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Since I adore Rupi Kaur's poems, I'm intrgued to give Take Me With You a try. It's a LGBTQ poem collection which explores various topics. The topics that highlighted this book were political and family related poems. Raising their voices as they struggled on being accepted by the society and their love ones. It's written with such rawness and I like it. However, some poems aren't my cup of tea particularly about love. I thought they're bland and unoriginal.

[Dee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Last year November, during my final week of being in Bombay, I went to this cute little bookstore which I had been wanting to go to but for some reason kept postponing (I had only gone to bookshops and pubs for the whole week, I was up to something) and I found this book. I had very little money left so I knew I couldn't have bought this so I started reading it and the store owner kept giving me glances. I couldn't obviously go past few pages thus promised I would pick it later.

And one year down the lane, I know why the man passed me the looks: he was only trying to warn me. Poor, good lad whom I have cursed for a whole year!

It is a book full of excerpts apparently from Andrea Gibson's other poetry collections. The others are better I have heard.

(Still better than Rupi Kaur.)

Not recommended.

[jenni · Rating 2 out of 5]

sorta trite insta-poet-like fluff punctuated by watered-down platitudes that make this kind of bottom-shelf stylizing of what is otherwise an amazing poet's polished and refreshing form into something completely lacking the much-anticipated depth. andrea gibson is a mystifying poet! but this formatting continues to embarrass me.

[Philip · Rating 1 out of 5]

We've been thrown the scraps in a cool looking font.

I was expecting a book of poetry, whereas I read a book of quotes. Even then, I expected more - especially from a goodreads choice award nominee.

Gibson seems to have had a difficult and confusing life. Contradictions abound. Whitman: Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself; (I am large, I contain multitudes.)

They (she) ask(s) us (me) to be kind (pg. 125) while taking a detour straight through the belly of uncensored rage. (54)

Even their preferred pronoun points to confusion, contradiction and multitudes. (I don't mean this as a transphobic or homophobic criticism, but a literary one.)

I don't want the scraps. They feel like ideas of a poem that haven't bloomed. Gibson's notebooks before hashing them out.

After I had the book in hand, I saw this post on Facebook. I hadn't started the book yet, and the poem teased my mind for the gift it was about to receive. But the book had the first stanza in it. Only the first stanza. And after reading the full poem I was left realizing how much was left out - and how much greater the poem was. How much more sense it made when taken as a whole.

Part of me worries that a one-star review will put Gibson over the edge. They seem like the type of person who would read the one star reviews as an excuse to beat themself up.

Or maybe I'll come across as an uninspired patriarchal chauvinist, lacking in taste, tact, and culture. But I don't want to cave and raise my star count (and how I honestly feel about the book) because I'm worried a mob of fans will leave mean comments, or pull out a tampon and throw it at me (pg. 25) should they meet me in the streets.

[Agirlcandream · Rating 4 out of 5]

Go to Andrea Gibson’s website, https://www.andreagibson.org/ and see how they are marketing this little pocketbook of inspirational quotes.

"A pocket book, by Andrea Gibson. Out January 23rd, 2018
A book small enough to carry with you, with messages big enough to stay with you, from one of the most quotable and influential poets of our time.
Andrea Gibson explores themes of love, gender, politics, sexuality, family, and forgiveness with stunning imagery and a fierce willingness to delve into the exploration of what it means to heal and to be different in this strange age. Take Me With You, illustrated throughout with evocative line drawings by Sarah J. Coleman, is small enough to fit in your bag, with messages that are big enough to wake even the sleepiest heart."

Andrea Gibson is a non-binary spoken word artist whose YouTube videos are heartfelt and powerful. I dare anyone to listen to the video ‘Orlando” and not be affected by her honesty and powerful presence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNadn...

This little pocket book moved me. Gibson distills the thoughts of many of us living on the fringe of accepted society. Well done.

eARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.

[Taylor Dunkelberger · Rating 2 out of 5]

So.... I didn’t love this. It wasn’t bad or unenjoyable by any means. However, I had a hard time connecting with the majority of the poems.

[AleJandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 STARS

El contenido es interesante y toca muchos temas a debatir y reflexionar, pero rápido se vuelve tedioso y queda sepultado por que repite la misma fórmula de todos los libros de poesía contemporánea que se están publicando estos días.

[Yuthika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading this. A whirlwind of words, and someone screaming poetry at me – responding to the poetry within me? Well, finally.
This is an important book addressing love, the world, politics, ourselves, panic attacks, and simple reminders… realisations?
And one life lesson I picked up (in Capital letters! YES!): The worst thing that ever happened to me was not the worst thing that ever happened to me. Hating myself for it was.”

[Abantika(hiltonjenkin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: Got a pre release ARC copy through Net Galley for an honest review.

Expected Publication Date: 13 February, 2018

Take Me With You is a collection of LGBTQ poems written by Andrea Gibson. And is divided into three segments: Love, The World and Becoming, through which it explores themes of love, gender, politics, sexuality, family, and forgiveness.

Few of the poems were really well written and touches your heart. But many were just, Just Bad. Among which some were too cliched and some cringe worthy.

(I would have quoted some of the poems from the book so that you all could decide yourselves but I'm not allowed to do so with my ARC.)

I will still give it a '3 star' rating as few of the poems were excillent. But again, the all over experience was disappointing. Honestly, reading the title and the blurb I really expected to like this poetry collection.

[mina · Rating 1 out of 5]

↠1+

Interestingly, anything can pass as poetry nowadays. I was expecting a real poetry type of collection.

After finishing this I saw that these are excerpts from Gibson’s poetry collections. Why would someone do that, pull just some parts of their poetry, and make this? I didn’t like the first part of the collection. I was reading it with a confused grimace face because some things made me go wtf? The second and third parts had two or three quotes (I refuse to call them poems) that were to my liking, but all in all those parts were better because they had touches of the author's struggles through life.

[Brandon Forsyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed as much as I cried. It was a huge mistake to take this book out in public.

[Maddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I respect and appreciate Andrea Gibson and their work SO MUCH, but this collection just wasn’t for me. The poems seemed quite generic, which was super disappointing. I’ve read other collections of Andrea’s and loved them. Take Me With You was a miss for me, unfortunately.

Rest in Peace, Andrea. Thank you for all you accomplished for queer and especially nonbinary folks. <3

[Adrianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally was going to give this book 2 stars, but the more I read the more I started to like it. It’s not my favourite poetry book I’ve read but I felt a range of emotions and even laughed around while reading this book. I always appreciate an author that can make me feel more than one emotion and Andrea Gibson did just that.

[Kenzie]

I still don’t get poetry but I’m trying

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Coming into our own humanity often takes enormous effort, commitment, and bravery. I believe we should be taught that at an early age. I believe part of the violence of our culture stirs from the myth that kindness is natural. I don’t think kindness is natural. I think kindness would only be natural in a world where no one is hurt, and everyone is hurt. So kindness is work. Kindness is our knees in the garden weeding our bites, our apathies, our cold shoulders, our silences, our cruelties, whatever taught us the word “ugly.’”

This could be a good introduction to Andrea Gibson’s poetry for those who are not familiar with their books. In the vain of Rupi Kaur, this collections contains quotes from Gibson’s old and newer poems, paired with symbolic drawings by Sarah J. Coleman. You could open this pocket-sized wonder wherever you feel like it, their powerful words could be a real comfort on a bad day!

“When asked if I believe in ‘good people,’ I say I believe in people who are committed to knowing their own wounds intimately. People who read their wounds’ diaries, who follow their wounds out windows, down ladders, asking, ‘Where are you going? What do you need? How can I intervene before a cruel thing is done or said?’”

[Joshua Moneda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Truth be told, the title and the author's background is really interesting -- but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. There are poems that are just too cliche/mainstream and I just can't seem to find the author's voice when she wrote those, it's almost as if she's just reiterating them. When it comes to choice of words, most of the poems appear weak and lacking. Im not also a fan of how they used ALL CAPS throughout the book because by doing so, it made the poems monotonous.

On the bright side, I found one poem that actually made me stop, close my eyes, and shed some tears (It's the last one she wrote).

Lastly, It's also hard not to compare it with Rupi Kaur's "Milk and Honey" (which im also not a big fan of) because they actually marketed it that way saying something like "for readers of Milk and Honey" and as a bookseller I've seen people buy M and H then return it a day after. It's a bestseller because it's mainstream, and some people just want to jump on to the bandwagon.

I really want to love this book and it's author, but I just can't.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't mean to read Take Me With You in one sitting, but the bus ride was long and at every page I felt more alive. It was an emotional roller coaster that I will certainly be taking again... and again and again and again.

These are excerpts of poems. Some of them were new to me, some I've had the pleasure of listening to live. Some of these few lines managed to take me right back to that extraordinary moment when Andrea Gibson was in front of me, their voice everything. They are magic and they are real.

I hope that whoever runs into this collection without having read them before feels the need to dive, eyes and heart open, into their complete body of work. It's an experience.

Couldn't be more grateful for the ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

[R.]

Most of the poems were interesting but not as impactful to me. Still, a solid poetry collection.

[Amanda Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. Andrea’s words are so grounding. The mixture of humor, social acumen, and vulnerability is wonderful.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The expansiveness of the queer heart.

[Iphios · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Some poems hit me hard in simplicity and power. Some felt like a quick scribble that didn't feel like it needed a page.

Still, those powerful ones made up for it. In the end spoken word is best spoken than read. Some of the poems i have watched Gibson perform on youtube.

[Cassandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not for me.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, I initially thought, “Yeah, a 3 seems like a pretty solid rating.” Except now that I look back at some of what I read, I changed my mind, haha.

Andrea Gibson’s Take Me with You is for the folks who are fans of the poetry style that you often see on Tumblr and Instagram; something along the lines of Rupi Kaur, Lang Leav, Clementine von Radics— In other words, this isn’t my cup of tea, but I picked it up anyway because it’s not every day you get to read works by trans/nonbinary poets.

The meaning behind these poems are thought-provoking enough, especially when it comes to gender identity and US political issues. What do you mean by “enough,” then? It had the promise of substance, but ended up being more shallow than I would have liked. I wouldn’t say that the poems are half-assed, but none of them felt particularly finished. It’s a shame, because there were some particularly good lines that made me want more.

At least to me, it seemed like Gibson wanted the reader to be able to relate to their experience. I think that’s often the case when you see first-person pronouns everywhere in poetry. I couldn’t find any way to connect, though, because the poems lacked in ways that gave me an idea of who they really were. I don’t have to come from the same culture/geographic location to be able to “relate” (in some sense of the word); but I wasn’t given the chance to because the brevity of these poems wouldn’t allow for contemplation.

Similarly to the aforementioned authors, there is a particular focus on trauma and self-care, often in relation to surviving something. For many, this may be a place of contemplating one’s healing process. I guess this is just something I don’t need, which is why I felt more apathetic—maybe even annoyed—about the direction of this collection. It’s each to their own, though. Poetry is always hard to review because of its subjectivity.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very short book written as 3 long poems about living life to its fullest and as honestly as you can. Andrea Gibson was an incredible nonbinary poet. They write beautifully here.
“Any feminist who has ever taken the high road, will tell you the high road gets backed up, and sometimes we need to take a detour straight through the belly of uncensored rage.” 69
“Bury me in a blue blanket so their God doesn’t know I’m a girl. Cut off my curls. I want peace when I’m dead.” 82
“Woman, are you a carbon copy of myself? Is there a boy inside you painting your cells with the charcoal of cindered feathers so that you will never again glow in the dark the way girls do?” 101
“I wipe my frantic breath from the window, and bind my breasts so that something will hold my breath so tight not even the air in my lungs could be identified as a woman.” 106
“What I want most is to live the rest of my life desperately wanting to live it.” 195

[Bree Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved Pansy by Andrea Gibson so I was very excited when I learned she had another poetry collection coming out. This one was okay to me. I hate to compare it to Pansy but Pansy completely blew me away! I couldn’t recommend it enough! I was trying to put in the hands of anyone I could. This one just didn’t leave me with that feeling. The good thing about Poetry is that everyone interprets it different and there are collections that if you read them initially at the wrong time you may reread them later and be astounded at what you’re reading! Hopefully that’s the case with this one for me.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wish I could give this a half-star more because 2 is not enough, but it also doesn't quite reach a 3 for me either.

A few things to note:
-Gibson starts off strong with their poem about intending to leave this earth with a heart that's been so vulnerable, so broken, so shattered, that there must be "a thousand separate heavens" to hold all of said broken parts. Stunning.
-There are a few wonderful snippets scattered throughout as well ("I know the wound is an echo," the piece about kindness being work and how constructing it as "natural" is both a discounting and dangerous game, "I put in a skylight that is all yours the day you picked me up and carried me through that airport like my goodbye had no weight. My goodbye has no weight" ooph).
-RE: my sister's review of the collection... the font choice (style and size) is very cheugy
-Overall though, a lot of the pieces are very Facebook/Insta/tumblr reblog material, which is neither here nor there, but certainly not expansive. My sister says that their other work is more impressive (and that this collection is merely snippets from their other work) and fleshed out, so I will be checking that out as well.