Corazón

by Yesika Salgado

Corazón is a love story. It is about the constant hunger for love. It is about feeding that hunger with another person and finding that sometimes it isn’t enough. Salgado creates a world in which the heart can live anywhere; her fat brown body, her parents home country, a lover, a toothbrush, a mango, or a song. It is a celebration of heartache, of how it can ruin us, but most importantly how we always survive it and return to ourselves whole.

Genres: Poetry, Feminism, Latinx, Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Latino

86 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2017

Reviews

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

...in that moment I understood why I have been willing to ruin myself for love. when it's good, it feels like dying and being born all at once.

(from "a kiss")

absolutely fantastic. salgado immediately became one of my favorite poets for the way she writes with such painful candor, and the way she uses the same voice to talk about falling in love and to talk about losing that love. she also talks about her fat brown body, her immigrant parents, the places that feel like home to her, and so many different types of love. i really adore the way she brings the same passion to all of her poems.

i feel kinship with salgado because i have a flaming heart tattoo, and i know salgado knows what it's like to live life with your heart aflame. so many of her poems are about this exquisite, excruciating fire that cannot be extinguished.

part of me wished i'd saved this for a heartbreaky time in my life, because damn, the angst is palpable. definitely a soothing breakup read.

as someone who is learning spanish for a spanish-speaking partner, it's an absolute thrill to be able to read a poem en español. salgado weaves the languages together beautifully. i'm not fluent enough to read an entire book in spanish, but the spanish she includes is just the right level. and oh, the sweetness:

mi corazón, cielito lindo, tesoro mío, mi amor, mi vida, mi alma. - how beautiful it is to be loved in Spanish. so much color. so much taste. this is where I learned to love with abandon. when my lover called me his heart, his pretty sky, his treasure, his love, his life, his soul - has anyone ever spoken to you this way? covered you with kisses naming you every precious thing they know? have they filled you with so much dulce you thought you would burst? - mi vida. mi alma. oh, to love so much you become the soul, skies, treasure, corazón.

("dulzura")

[Sarita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rocked my core. Yesika is on fire. Highly recommended. You know it's a good book when you keep taking snapshops of poems! Read it NOW which is available on Kindle.

[Karen (idleutopia_reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lately, I've been reading more poetry. I've truly enjoyed what I read. I think of all the years I wasted being afraid of poetry and how I didn't want to even touch it because I'd be afraid I wouldn't understand it. Now I just feel it and whoa did Yesika Salgado make me feel a lot. I loved her craftsmanship when it comes to words. When you see how someone is able to craft words to convey so many experiences and emotions you just can't help but be in awe of them. Add to this writing in Spanglish and I have found a new home in the words that Yesika has chosen to share with us. It is not a small feat to show us her heart the way she has. Yesika shows us her vulnerabilities but only to showcase her strength. I loved her last poem in which she summarizes what it is she writes about. The list of things was a wonderful read. I was just glad to have been allowed to see so much and have words crafted to relate to her experiences. We've all read about love before but each experience is unique. I will be so bold as to claim this as feminist poetry. It's about choosing yourself and allowing yourself to stop drowning in something that won't love you as you are. I loved the strong words she had to share about acceptance, about being fat, about being Spanglish, about survivor of trauma and of so many other wonderful experiences. I loved that I wanted to devour this book. I loved that I understood the cover more as I continued reading it and I love that I have a new favorite poet/writer. A quick thing, the poetry in this book shows us a story and one that will make you feel whole again after you witness a love that can break you but how you put yourself together again and make yourself this whole thing that is strengthened by the experiences you just witnessed.

[Glenda Nelms · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I learned to forgive before I learned to speak / to turn palms upward to God and my lover / to let a man ruin me with his love / to call the ruins sacred / to uproot everything and call the new place mine / to name the nostalgia something sweet / a ripened fruit growing out of a dying tree."

Corazon is a powerful and evoking poetry collection. Salgado addresses body positivity and self-love, family, heartbreak, alcoholism and abusive relationships. I really enjoy reading this book, looking forward to reading more from this beautiful poet.

[•.~*Izzy*~.• · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a beautiful book of poems. i feel like i related toooooooo well and even found myself tearing up at times. amazing read

[Annika · Rating 5 out of 5]

another great poetry collection from yesika. i think this one was better structured and takes you on an emotional journey. this is something i will revisit when i'm tending a heartbreak once again. such a beautiful way of capturing those emotions.

[Beckita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book allowed me to feel connected and relate to many views the author reflects. She is a disco ball. I loved reading the entire book of poems.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

3.5
There were a few poems I thoroughly enjoyed and others didn't flow as much. Overall, it was good. I wanted to like it more than I did.

[Roxanne (The Novel Sanctuary) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. Unapologetically fat-positive, brown and lovely.

[Rachel Lichtman Castaño · Rating 5 out of 5]

There aren't enough good things that I could say about this book. It's beautifully honest, it's raw and it's unapologetic and empowering and I could read it over and over again without getting tired of it. Whether you're in love, falling out of love, or single, this is a book everyone should read.

[Scarllet ✦ iamlitandwit · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you love me, even a little, I will call you corazón

I loved the overarching themes present in this collection (body positivity, family, self-love, latinx culture, the Spanish language, etc) & how LOVE y el corazón de Yesika Salgado literally poured out of these pages, leaving stains on my fingertips. Some poems were absolute hits but some weren't for me 👌🏼📖

[JADE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another delicious book from Yesika! 🥭 I love her poems speaking about familia, ex-boyfriends, first lessons, getting over it, Los Angeles, healing and loving her body. The loss of her dad, and so much more. I kinda like this one better than Tesoro but they’re both equally good. She’s all about her roots and takes us with her on her journey. I love that about her. Queen. ✊🏾✊🏽

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful and raw, this book commands your attention, respect, and tears. a thoughtful peek into the heart of the author. worth a million reads if you are a fellow fat brown girl like me.

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I felt like I was reading my own journal, reliving my experiences! I cried and laughed. It’s amazing! It brought me comfort to know I’m not the only one.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

No words needed.

Beautiful.
Amazing.
Life changing.
Love.
Yessss.
Sooooo many yesses.
I’m gonna read this over and over again.
Brown girls rock.

[Adri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful. Unapologetic. Fearlessly brown, Latinx, and fat. Yesika Salgado takes us on a journey of power and redemption, of learning to love yourself again when people tell you that you aren't worth it, regrowing parts of yourself where the roots have been torn out. She reconciles the traditional heightened, breathless nature of poetry with an authentic, colloquial tone, remixing Spanish and English in a way that lets the homegirls, the heartbroken cabronas, the reckless gorditas know that this is their home base. They belong in these pages. This collection keeps it real and gets too real all at once.

If you read one poetry collection this year, make it this one.

[arabella :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

After rereading 2 years later: 4.5.

Still one of the most electric works of poetry I’ve ever read — the original review stands!

—————

2 Things to Know About Me
1.) I do not like modern poetry very much
2.) I like to highlight prose that finds its way into mi alma while I am reading

To Yesika Salgado:

I highlighted most of this collection. I read it through my tears. My highlighter waits to be touched against your words again!

[Nicole Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words from the heart

This beautiful collection is poetry as storytelling. The story is about how Salgado learns and loves and lives her story. It's heartbreaking, decadent, real. What a voice.

[sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

“el corazón se estira millas y millas / el amor vive en dos países al mismo tiempo / el cariño nunca olvida”

i need some more poetry like this because goddamn yesika salgado knows how to make me EMOTIONAL.

[Mina Turan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yesika Salgado is a powerful writer. I moved slowly through the book and read almost every poem at least three times. She paints a bold picture through her writing and elicits emotion like no other. Highly recommend. Be prepared to laugh and cry, deeply.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly essential reading, and this is coming from someone who claims to not read poetry. Obsessed.

[Abhilash · Rating 2 out of 5]

A highly sophisticated version of Rupi Kaur most of the time, there are good poems esp at the beginning of the book. Middle part reads like auto-generated poetry. 2.5 stars from me. I think if I hadn't read Rupi this'd be easily 3 star.

[natalie ‧₊˚✩ · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh wow... this poetry collection was something else... immensely enjoyable and intricate in every way, yesika salgado shows her culture, family, love, loss, and so much more in just 80 pages. my favorite chapter was definitely the bruising, i think it contains some of the best work in the entire collection and this review would not be four stars without that section. i do think some of these poems yesika translates better as a performance rather than on paper, but these poems weren't meant for the reader they were for her. if you're going through heartache, this is a perfect book that balances all the emotions of it that i highly recommend. 🥭

[Shamiram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yesika Salgado's poetry is powerful and unapologetic. I can't really explain its magnetism.

Asking
I want love so bad
I chew on it in my sleep,
brush it into my gums

have you seen my quick smile?
this question laid across my face
asking
is it you? is it finally here?

I say I want love
but I know it's not true
when it comes,
what will I do
with this habit
of asking for what
I do not know how to keep?

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Salgado's poetry is pure triumph. One of my favorite collections to date. Immediate favorite poems are Faith, Dulzura, Hair, Haunted and Amherst.

[Albert Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily and well deserved!! Every single page there was a story, life, and most important emotion! So much! You can feel it coming off each and every word! It was so thought out and I honestly loved it so much!! A great representation of what an anthology should feel and be to me at least!!! I LOVED IT!!!!

[Crystal Michelle Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way I related to these poems. 🤌🏼

[Natalie Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best poetry I have ever read. I’ve never felt more seen in my life.

[Rebecca Karasik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely read poetry but I really loved the author's use of language. Everything was beautiful and sad at the same time. I got this book as a gift and I am so happy about that because I probably would never have read this otherwise.

[Bre'Ante Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revealing

Initially picked out this book because I've been going on a poetry binge. The first poem sets the tone of the entire book. The framing around the humble, culture unifying mango works amazing here. Midway through the book I began becoming a bit overwhelmed and filled by the main content that was repeatedly touched on. But the way Yesika writes shows that she is comfortable with the struggles, and that often struggles we face in life often repeat themselves if not revealed. The final poem "Compilation" ties the themes together beautifully. This book is an excellent read and i highly recommend