I am not a practicing angel: Poems

by Alta

Book by Alta.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

alta is funny... i can’t believe this was written in the 70s. it has major hot girl twitter vibes. anyway, it’s funnier cos it’s old. i found that reassuring, exciting- someone my mums age wrote about things like this. i wonder what things my mum was thinking about in the 70s, if i asked her that i know what she’d say : sex sex sex. same with alta, same with us, sex is making us feel all kinds of ways. i have phobias and poets keep pushing my buttons about it. i don’t know how i feel except annoyed most of the time. something comes up when i’m staring at a wood knot in my bed frame and then the feeling becomes pregnant in me. alta says ‘tonight i felt guilty peeling a peach. the whole day was like that’ and then the day after that is sometimes the same, sometimes different, but the phobias still throb and we mustn’t hate ourselves for it

[Ash Reads Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with most poetry collections, "I Am Not a Practicing Angel" wasn't perfect, but overall I still really enjoyed the zine. Reading this from the perspective of someone living in 2022, it's interesting to see contemporary commentary on issues of the 70s (and to see just how many of this commentary is still relevant today). The illustrations are also beautiful.

[Dana Jerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stark and provocative writing that feels like home.

[RM O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really wild book of poems. The frankness of these poems makes them feel incredibly contemporary -- they wd fit well in The YOLO Pages.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found a copy of this at the library at college. A must read for the lobo soul who did not let schooling interfere (too too much) with her education.