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Autopsy
Written after the death of his mother, Donte Collins's Autopsy establishes the poet as one of the most important voices in the next generation of American poetry. As the book unfolds, the reader journeys alongside the author through grief and healing. Named the Most Promising Young Poet in the country by the Academy of American Poets, Collins's work has consistently wowed audiences. Autopsy propels that work onto the national stage. In the words of the author, the book is a spring thaw -- the new life alongside the old, the good cry and the release after.
72 pages, Paperback
First published July 18, 2017
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2969 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
August 11, 2017
Damn Donte Collins! The little collection of poetry had my heart full of emotions! God did a lot of them break my heart while a few also pissed me off (for good reason). The biggest theme in this collection is grief. I struggle at times with books about grief because sometimes the authors try a little bit too hard for my liking. And at times it seems fake. With Autopsy, you are sitting on a couch, in a coffee shop..wherever and plopped right down beside you is grief and you're going to experience it through and through from all angles. I can't even wrap my head around having to live through the stories told in this collection. So many ended off in ways that made me gasp for air, I had no idea that at some point I began to hold my breath. It was so so so heartbreakingly beautiful. I am a sucker for love poems but poetry is so much more than that and this collection was definitely a reminder for me❤️
February 25, 2020
"Don't you know a wooden casket can take centuries to rot"
Step one: Read *Autopsy* by Donte Collins.
Step two: Open the book to any effing page.
Step three: Pick any line and write it down. Savor it. Feel the chill run up your spine.
Step four: Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
How can 46 pages of poetry hold SO damn much? How can 46 pages make me feel my shame at 13, make me wanna cradle my grief at 42, and make me rage at every year of loss, of loneliness, of being left behind in between. And these healing words feels oh so good. 🙏🙏🙏
Step one: Read *Autopsy* by Donte Collins.
Step two: Open the book to any effing page.
Step three: Pick any line and write it down. Savor it. Feel the chill run up your spine.
Step four: Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
How can 46 pages of poetry hold SO damn much? How can 46 pages make me feel my shame at 13, make me wanna cradle my grief at 42, and make me rage at every year of loss, of loneliness, of being left behind in between. And these healing words feels oh so good. 🙏🙏🙏
December 24, 2021
Hauntingly authentic, and gorgeously unfettered. This stunning, stirring poetry book is Donte Collins' dissection of grief and identity as a queer black 21 year old, still grappling with their mother's death and who they are now that they consider themselves an orphan. They rip open a wound that feels achingly fresh to expose every visceral emotion and explosive feeling in their body with the precision and power that only a poet can.
From the first poem, I was gripped and gobsmacked. Collins won the Most Promising Young Poet Award from the Academy of American Poets and with every page of this book, it became more and more abundantly clear what an apt superlative that is. I will be reading anything they produce henceforth. The language is accessible and unadorned but still manages to be lyrical and imaginative in fresh and exciting ways. These words may be deceptively conversational but as the poems progress, they take new shapes and meaning that vividly evoke emotions and experiences while also hypnotizing the reader into a mesmerizing dreamscape of an artistic, sensitive and brilliant mind.
There are heavy themes at play here that should come with trigger warnings for death, abuse, and even suicidal thoughts but Collins' gift as a writer is glaringly apparent as they transmute this intense and pervasive trauma into something profoundly human in its curiosity, confusion, anger and wit. This short book of poetry feels like a tantalizing appetizer for the banquet of talent that Donte Collins so clearly has waiting in the wings. Somehow, in unearthing complicated and conflicting feelings about the death of a loved one, Collins has created something so dynamic, nuanced and creative that it can only be described as alive.
From the first poem, I was gripped and gobsmacked. Collins won the Most Promising Young Poet Award from the Academy of American Poets and with every page of this book, it became more and more abundantly clear what an apt superlative that is. I will be reading anything they produce henceforth. The language is accessible and unadorned but still manages to be lyrical and imaginative in fresh and exciting ways. These words may be deceptively conversational but as the poems progress, they take new shapes and meaning that vividly evoke emotions and experiences while also hypnotizing the reader into a mesmerizing dreamscape of an artistic, sensitive and brilliant mind.
There are heavy themes at play here that should come with trigger warnings for death, abuse, and even suicidal thoughts but Collins' gift as a writer is glaringly apparent as they transmute this intense and pervasive trauma into something profoundly human in its curiosity, confusion, anger and wit. This short book of poetry feels like a tantalizing appetizer for the banquet of talent that Donte Collins so clearly has waiting in the wings. Somehow, in unearthing complicated and conflicting feelings about the death of a loved one, Collins has created something so dynamic, nuanced and creative that it can only be described as alive.
June 30, 2020
God, what beautiful, sad, heavy poetry.
February 11, 2019
´Autopsy´ is a masterpiece. Almost an autobiographical poetry collection mainly dedicated to his late mother, Collins has weaved his way easily through words and metaphors to write about racial discrimination, sexuality, adoption and, of course, autopsy, in the most intriguing manner.
This book has not only given a new face to contemporary poetry but has made poetry the less important subject in all the poems (almost in the style of the novel) and this is what I loved the most about Collins´ writing. To be able to make the reader see through the lines and between them, like the poet, is something only a very competent writer can do, and Collins has successfully achieved that.
This book has not only given a new face to contemporary poetry but has made poetry the less important subject in all the poems (almost in the style of the novel) and this is what I loved the most about Collins´ writing. To be able to make the reader see through the lines and between them, like the poet, is something only a very competent writer can do, and Collins has successfully achieved that.
May 5, 2020
CWs: child abuse, discussion of racism
May 17, 2020
4,25
What a promising new voice!
What a promising new voice!
May 31, 2022
Do you still perform autopsies on conversations you had lives ago?
So much heartbreak and beauty in this one.
Dante Collin showed a full range of feelings as he wrote about abuse, death and loss, childhood trauma, questions of self-identity, and racism. And even though it was a short poetry collection compared to others, it sustained me with heavy emotions all throughout the book. His style of writing was also unique, which made it more fun to read.
So much heartbreak and beauty in this one.
Dante Collin showed a full range of feelings as he wrote about abuse, death and loss, childhood trauma, questions of self-identity, and racism. And even though it was a short poetry collection compared to others, it sustained me with heavy emotions all throughout the book. His style of writing was also unique, which made it more fun to read.
August 1, 2021
"confession: the want to die is not always the want not to live, but sometimes the want to live somewhere softer. where the tall grass lulls my body to sleep where everything promises to stay alive"
September 2, 2018
This was an excellent poetry book. It was refreshing to read a voice like Collins'. He has an experimental approach to writing that is young and fresh. The book's theme was grief and the power it has over us. There were many touching passages throughout the book, but the one that made me cry was the last one. Incredible book to have in your collection if you are a lover of poetry. Bravo, Donte Collins. You have a great gift.
Read
January 20, 2022Grief and dirt and sex and mother and regrowth and death and race and grit; a body cut open, heart bared to the world. First poetry of the year, and highly recommended. 📚
“
it does this, my head I mean. makes every poem a beatless body, which
makes my mouth a morgue. which
makes my mouth a catharsis of ash
which makes you a witness to this
wilting…
…which makes my mouth a closed casket
which means I mourn in metaphor
which means my parent(s)
could be the shovel
or the dirt or the tree
owl interrogating the night
#dontecollins #autopsy
“
it does this, my head I mean. makes every poem a beatless body, which
makes my mouth a morgue. which
makes my mouth a catharsis of ash
which makes you a witness to this
wilting…
…which makes my mouth a closed casket
which means I mourn in metaphor
which means my parent(s)
could be the shovel
or the dirt or the tree
owl interrogating the night
#dontecollins #autopsy
January 2, 2021
Heartbreaking
September 22, 2021
Beautiful and touching. I loved every poem.
July 25, 2017
Donte Collins' debut collection is nothing short of stunning. Collins writes with biting clarity and beautiful metaphors. His poems are definitely Twin Cities specific but I believe are approachable to all readers. Many beautiful passages from Autopsy have been haunting me ever since I finished it. The first collection of poems that I have read that address adoption and foster care.
December 22, 2020
Going to sit with this for a bit.
Update: I did, and still not really sure how I want to rate this one. It was filled with such emotion and beautifully written words. A work that succeeded in expressing and working through grief, while centering Blackness and queerness, basically I thought it was good I just don't know how good. Grief and myself also have a complicated relationship and perhaps that got in the way. Maybe I'll re-read this one down the road and see if my thoughts change.
Update: I did, and still not really sure how I want to rate this one. It was filled with such emotion and beautifully written words. A work that succeeded in expressing and working through grief, while centering Blackness and queerness, basically I thought it was good I just don't know how good. Grief and myself also have a complicated relationship and perhaps that got in the way. Maybe I'll re-read this one down the road and see if my thoughts change.
December 6, 2018
I AM SHORT FOR WORDS RIGHT NOW.
I finished this book a week ago, but I couldn't bring myself to write a review that would be adequate for this masterpiece. I still have to push myself to say something about it...even though I know, I know no words I write here can do justice to the words I have read. This is by far, the most beautiful, most amazing and undeniably heartbreaking poetry collection that I have come across. I don't know how else to say I love this book.
I finished this book a week ago, but I couldn't bring myself to write a review that would be adequate for this masterpiece. I still have to push myself to say something about it...even though I know, I know no words I write here can do justice to the words I have read. This is by far, the most beautiful, most amazing and undeniably heartbreaking poetry collection that I have come across. I don't know how else to say I love this book.
November 11, 2017
Damn. This one is wonderful.
July 9, 2018
As someone whose parent has died in the last year, this book was hard and good to read. It is brave and truthful and beautiful. Thank you, Donte.
January 15, 2019
4.5/5 stars. A stunning collection; my favourites were ‘don’t tell your Uber driver you’re going to an orgy’ and ‘thirteen ways of looking at thirteen’.
November 20, 2021
Insane. I picked this up purely by chance and I'm so glad I did. This is a poetry collection that feels immensely vulnerable, both angry and sad, talking about death, love, violence, sexuality, racism and hate. The topics are heavy and there's no shying away from the indelicate bits - it's gritty and unpleasant, both intense and delicate in its use of clever language. It's incredible that this is a debut!
Personal favourites: don't tell your uber driver you're going to an orgy, thirteen ways of looking at thirteen, the orphan dines with ghosts and grief, again.
I read it in one go, but had to take a break to cry for a bit in the middle because I felt so much all at once. So excited for more from this author in the future.
Mind the trigger warnings for this one!
Personal favourites: don't tell your uber driver you're going to an orgy, thirteen ways of looking at thirteen, the orphan dines with ghosts and grief, again.
I read it in one go, but had to take a break to cry for a bit in the middle because I felt so much all at once. So excited for more from this author in the future.
Mind the trigger warnings for this one!
Read
August 19, 2024Gets at places in several contexts of grief that are often shied away from, a deep cut into the guts of it. I appreciated the unapologetic embrace of the different ways he saw loss, something that can lead to deep ambivalence, but he made it feel right for all those views and feelings to coexist. Glad I picked it up.
Some of my favorite lines from, "Grief, Again"
"...you don't want to be touched & want to be touched everywhere..."
"...grief is a paper cut at ever bend in your body, grief shaves each bone down to a shriveled white flag you want to die but don't want to leave a mess..."
and from "Five Stages of Grief"
"confessions: the want to die is not always the want not to live, but sometimes the want to live somewhere softer. where the tall grass lulls my body to sleep where everything promises to stay alive"
Some of my favorite lines from, "Grief, Again"
"...you don't want to be touched & want to be touched everywhere..."
"...grief is a paper cut at ever bend in your body, grief shaves each bone down to a shriveled white flag you want to die but don't want to leave a mess..."
and from "Five Stages of Grief"
"confessions: the want to die is not always the want not to live, but sometimes the want to live somewhere softer. where the tall grass lulls my body to sleep where everything promises to stay alive"
July 31, 2017
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
Everything about this collection is evocative; stylistically, emotionally and intellectually. Donte Collins truly gets at the grit of loss and identity and the confusion of a life lived, managing to pull grins and gasps in the same verse. This way of painting with language is exactly what I think poetry should be and it was there in every line of this book.
Everything about this collection is evocative; stylistically, emotionally and intellectually. Donte Collins truly gets at the grit of loss and identity and the confusion of a life lived, managing to pull grins and gasps in the same verse. This way of painting with language is exactly what I think poetry should be and it was there in every line of this book.
December 1, 2019
Oof. This one hit me. I picked it up, not knowing that it contained my whole heart. Centered around losing a mom, these poems ripped through me in only the best way. Allowing me space to explore how complex our grief can be, I found myself in these words, and between them. Extremely grateful for this collection.
November 10, 2020
THIS. IS. MASTERPIECE
Not a friend of poetry before this. If you found yourself in deep grief and healing, this book will taste like 'es teh di hari yang sangat panas' . My favorite one is Don't Tell Your Uber Driver You're Going to An Orgy.
Give some love for my baby Donte Collins y'all ain't regret this
Not a friend of poetry before this. If you found yourself in deep grief and healing, this book will taste like 'es teh di hari yang sangat panas' . My favorite one is Don't Tell Your Uber Driver You're Going to An Orgy.
Give some love for my baby Donte Collins y'all ain't regret this
July 18, 2022
a really fantastic book of poetry. the author told their life story so well through the poems that i didn’t feel the need to research the author to understand and connect with the text. this was my biggest criticism for the last book of poetry I read, where I felt very lost and confused as the poems seemed to tell a story i had no context for. the text explores a range of topics and life events for the author. a number of lines stood out in particular and i remember thinking how they have phrased this feeling or experience so perfectly in so few words. i would love to read more work by this author.
August 2, 2017
Donte Collins' prowess defies belief. That he can turn his grief into such harrowing art at only 21 is both a gift and curse. An astounding talent.
December 7, 2018
tw death / racialised homophobia / abuse
“I say
I matter & a ghost
white hand appears
over my mouth.”
“I say
I matter & a ghost
white hand appears
over my mouth.”
May 11, 2022
4.5/5
Kindly check trigger warnings before reading.
Kindly check trigger warnings before reading.
January 4, 2023
oh wow oh wow oh wow holy shit ?????
Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews