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I left nothing inside on purpose
The sense that the world ought to be comprehensible cannot be out-thought, & so at the irreducible core of everything is a shard of betraying—there is, after all, no ought in nature. These poems by Stevie Howell attempt to provide that ought—“Yr mother worked for the doctor. She was also the doctor”—which is to say, I left nothing inside on purpose is a book of bewildered lament, as only the truest & smartest books are.
—Shane McCrae, author of In the Language of My Captor
If you mend a broken bowl with a seam of gold then the fracture becomes more precious than the bowl itself. Stevie Howell’s poems are that sort of precious. Howell’s voice is funny, in a dark, tragic, self-conscious sort of way. Restless, in a wise, far-reaching sort of way. Beautiful, in a broken sort of way. I return to them again & again.
—Nick Flynn, author of My Feelings
The highly anticipated second collection from the Irish-Canadian poet whose work has garnered international attention.
Poems of stringent aesthetic demands and volcanic emotional release make up Stevie Howell's wondrous I left nothing inside on purpose. These poems--bewildering in their linguistic beauty--verge on prayer in their intense plea to be truly seen by another, a sort of devotional sequence addressing the psychological construct of attachment. Can we change? Has anyone ever changed? Does it matter? Lives marred by injury and violence, both physical and psychic, emerge in the book as meditations on trust, endurance, faith, destruction, and love. Howell's voice combines ferocious intimacy and moral rigour with precision and compassion.
The Hawai'ian surf, the neuropsychologist's lab, the deliriums of social media, and the recovery room. From geology to theology, lyric pain to the contemplative mind of the quasi-saint, I left nothing inside on purpose is a deeply affecting, glittering analysis of who we are when we claim to be ourselves in the world.
—Shane McCrae, author of In the Language of My Captor
If you mend a broken bowl with a seam of gold then the fracture becomes more precious than the bowl itself. Stevie Howell’s poems are that sort of precious. Howell’s voice is funny, in a dark, tragic, self-conscious sort of way. Restless, in a wise, far-reaching sort of way. Beautiful, in a broken sort of way. I return to them again & again.
—Nick Flynn, author of My Feelings
The highly anticipated second collection from the Irish-Canadian poet whose work has garnered international attention.
Poems of stringent aesthetic demands and volcanic emotional release make up Stevie Howell's wondrous I left nothing inside on purpose. These poems--bewildering in their linguistic beauty--verge on prayer in their intense plea to be truly seen by another, a sort of devotional sequence addressing the psychological construct of attachment. Can we change? Has anyone ever changed? Does it matter? Lives marred by injury and violence, both physical and psychic, emerge in the book as meditations on trust, endurance, faith, destruction, and love. Howell's voice combines ferocious intimacy and moral rigour with precision and compassion.
The Hawai'ian surf, the neuropsychologist's lab, the deliriums of social media, and the recovery room. From geology to theology, lyric pain to the contemplative mind of the quasi-saint, I left nothing inside on purpose is a deeply affecting, glittering analysis of who we are when we claim to be ourselves in the world.
- GenresPoetryCanadaPoetry Plays
Kindle Edition
Published March 27, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 9, 2018
gorgeous
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April 22, 2018Off-kilter, intimate earth-shatterings.
September 27, 2018
Another example of a poetry collection that I felt like I needed to read at this particular moment in time that I picked it up. There's a fluidity to Howell's poetry that is very meditative, and the use of space and jargon/abbreviations like "yr" were hypnotic. For the first time, perhaps even ever, I feel like the title of a collection really reflects the atmosphere of the poems inside. Howell has a gift with wording and shaping language into a sensation that absorbs the reader until the last page.
April 5, 2018
Stevie Howell's new book, I left nothing inside on purpose delivers fierce and tender poetry in their latest work. It asks you to freshly consider pain and beauty, to consider anew who you are and to whom you belong, and does this with the precision of a new mirror, as in these lines:"I always want/
the prey to escape". Me, too, and you have to have once been prey to feel that way, no? And to always want—that, too.
the prey to escape". Me, too, and you have to have once been prey to feel that way, no? And to always want—that, too.
May 1, 2018
Moving and beautiful!
August 30, 2018
Poetry is so subjective!! At least one excellent poem in here that I loved called ‘Attachment’, and some wise and beautiful phrases, but overall this did not speak to me.
July 15, 2018
Often brilliant, sometimes forced.
August 1, 2019
many memorable lines, images. i've been reading poetry on sickness and health issues. some books directly address the protangonist's health issue, while others, such as this one, does not. and there are only a few poems with hints at an ailment of some kind. they blend into poems of feminism, melancholy, birds not acting like typical birds in poems. i feel like the poet is flouting traditional views or typical views on women, on sickness, on nature. i like it.
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September 24, 2018Some of my faves:
Non-attachment: ... I'm a prisoner/ in this body. I'm alone in here. If you love me--write to me.
The long hall: ... what is this feeling/ what is the name for/ how did I get here ... This quiet work,/ counting slow/ laps down & back/ through the long/ hall. A secular/ prayer ...
Non-attachment: ... I'm a prisoner/ in this body. I'm alone in here. If you love me--write to me.
The long hall: ... what is this feeling/ what is the name for/ how did I get here ... This quiet work,/ counting slow/ laps down & back/ through the long/ hall. A secular/ prayer ...
July 13, 2019
One of my favourite poetry books in a long time.
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July 17, 2024Favorite poems were "In the gutter, under the moon" and "Only poem about highschool."
"But it's strange
how pain never knows when to stop
drinking."
"If you love me-- write to me"
"But it's strange
how pain never knows when to stop
drinking."
"If you love me-- write to me"
October 13, 2025
"I grew up & defended the wound from other girls (jealous girls) who were desperate to find a wound of their own. Scared b/c all the good wounds were getting serious. Sometimes, afterwards, the wound coos in my ear, then, there... & it is bliss to have welcomed the wound, to no longer be restless." - on heteronormativity
"Men die young b/c they know themselves, b/c love is finite, he depletes it alone. What's it like to sail the globe, feeling as tho yr the first to part the seas, to steer a secret. Everyone wants in on the secret, that's what broke the world open." - on colonization
"Reflected on how she had always meant to form female relationships. There's always time for what we intend. To understand feminine concepts such as self-care. The term confused her. The terms of newcomers touching women where they refused to touch themselves, sending small small light-yrs back to praying songs." - the attention to untouched places (emotional, physical, mental) untouched due to ideas of purity or femininity heals as if... sending small rays of light back through time to the prayers and songs of her past self (whatever that means)
"Men die young b/c they know themselves, b/c love is finite, he depletes it alone. What's it like to sail the globe, feeling as tho yr the first to part the seas, to steer a secret. Everyone wants in on the secret, that's what broke the world open." - on colonization
"Reflected on how she had always meant to form female relationships. There's always time for what we intend. To understand feminine concepts such as self-care. The term confused her. The terms of newcomers touching women where they refused to touch themselves, sending small small light-yrs back to praying songs." - the attention to untouched places (emotional, physical, mental) untouched due to ideas of purity or femininity heals as if... sending small rays of light back through time to the prayers and songs of her past self (whatever that means)
May 6, 2018
Rating: 4.5 stars
I received a copy of “I left nothing inside on purpose” by Stevie Howell from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for a free and honest review.
I was attracted to this poetry collection by its title and cover. I admit that I had not heard of Stevie Howell before receiving the book, but as I would like to educate myself more on contemporary Canadian writers and poets, I was excited to read this collection.
“I left nothing inside on purpose” blew me away. Considering the size of the book - just a handful of pages - I expected myself to breeze through it. Instead, I spent almost a month going through it page by page, discovering more and more hidden gems between broken lines and slanted dashes.
Rich in symbolism and intricate in its form, Stevie’s poetry made me pause over and over to reassess what I was reading and feeling. I will be honest - it took me some time to get used to slashes and ampersands, but by the end of the book, I couldn’t imagine it being any other way.
I love books that make me take a moment and think. More so, I love books that make me google things that I don’t know as it does not happen very often (for example, an extraordinary case and life of Clive Wearing). Reading “I left nothing inside on purpose” felt like going on a long voyage: suffering from the unyielding heat, experiencing thirst and hunger, facing danger, making unlikely friends, and finally reaching the desired shores, weathered and more experienced than before. I am certain that this poetry collection is going to be a book I keep returning to, as I feel as if I have not explored all of its depths.
I kept delaying writing this review as I felt - and still feel - unequipped to review something so intricate and sophisticated. As always, in cases of the books that make me feel inadequate and simple, I suggest that you pick up a copy of “I left nothing inside on purpose” and read it for yourself. Dissecting and analyzing Stevie’s poems feels blasphemous.
Whatever misconceptions or prejudices you might have against contemporary poetry (something I can not relate to at any level), do consider giving “I left nothing inside on purpose” a go. It has to be experienced on your own.
Highly recommend.
I received a copy of “I left nothing inside on purpose” by Stevie Howell from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for a free and honest review.
I was attracted to this poetry collection by its title and cover. I admit that I had not heard of Stevie Howell before receiving the book, but as I would like to educate myself more on contemporary Canadian writers and poets, I was excited to read this collection.
“I left nothing inside on purpose” blew me away. Considering the size of the book - just a handful of pages - I expected myself to breeze through it. Instead, I spent almost a month going through it page by page, discovering more and more hidden gems between broken lines and slanted dashes.
Rich in symbolism and intricate in its form, Stevie’s poetry made me pause over and over to reassess what I was reading and feeling. I will be honest - it took me some time to get used to slashes and ampersands, but by the end of the book, I couldn’t imagine it being any other way.
I love books that make me take a moment and think. More so, I love books that make me google things that I don’t know as it does not happen very often (for example, an extraordinary case and life of Clive Wearing). Reading “I left nothing inside on purpose” felt like going on a long voyage: suffering from the unyielding heat, experiencing thirst and hunger, facing danger, making unlikely friends, and finally reaching the desired shores, weathered and more experienced than before. I am certain that this poetry collection is going to be a book I keep returning to, as I feel as if I have not explored all of its depths.
I kept delaying writing this review as I felt - and still feel - unequipped to review something so intricate and sophisticated. As always, in cases of the books that make me feel inadequate and simple, I suggest that you pick up a copy of “I left nothing inside on purpose” and read it for yourself. Dissecting and analyzing Stevie’s poems feels blasphemous.
Whatever misconceptions or prejudices you might have against contemporary poetry (something I can not relate to at any level), do consider giving “I left nothing inside on purpose” a go. It has to be experienced on your own.
Highly recommend.
June 8, 2018
I love reading poetry but I certainly find it harder to review than a novel, it just feels so subjective and personal. I loved the title and message behind I left nothing inside on purpose by Stevie Howell, but the poems themselves I often had a difficult time connecting with. It's a quiet collection filled with thoughtful pauses, examining moments and places. While it wasn't a collection I fell in love with, I left nothing inside on purpose is a short book interspersed with beautiful phrases, so if you are looking for a new book of contemporary poetry to read, I would consider this.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews