Lilith, but dark

by Nichole Perkins

Lilith, but dark reveals a series of confessions and penances, exploring a southern black woman’s tour through lover’s lament. It explores intimacies from home to the schoolyard to the bedroom. It is a journey through tornado alley, a search for power and peace in the eye of a southern storm.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Womens

86 pages, Paperback

First published July 17, 2018

Reviews

[Roxane · Rating 5 out of 5]

"There is a woman here, heady and blooming" reads the last line of the last poem, "Avon for Life," in this astonishing collection of poetry. And there is a woman here, heady and blooming in each of these infinitely resonant poems. With poise and precision, Nichole Perkins lays bare a black woman's life, her love, her loss—how she has come apart and pulled herself back together, how she has wanted and been wanting. There is so much beautiful writing to be found in these pages, such a fine attention to detail, such a seductive way of imbuing each line and verse with intimacy and wisdom, so that we always understand how time and place have shaped the poet and the unforgettable way she renders this world.

[Shakarean · Rating 5 out of 5]

what i like about his is how visual it is. and how much i felt seen while reading it.

[Leah]

took until the hottest day of the year for me to finish another book of poetry but it was a good pairing

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book fucked my whole shit up. This book is only 60 pages but took me months to read because I had to keep walking away and coming back. It is packed with so much...muchness.

Nichole Perkins writes about being a Black woman, living in Tennessee, depression, depression eating, relationships with: men, her family, herself.

I can't speak to being a Black woman or living in Tennessee, but the rest knocked me the fuck out. And EVERYTHING was written beautifully. I dog-eared all the poems that punched me in the gut or made me stop and it was at least half the book. I'll come back when I have the book on me to list some of my favorites, but wow, Perkins really understands the human condition and knows how to write about it beautifully.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after reading her book of essays, which I did not like. She included a poem in the book of essays so I knew she was talented. This author and poet is first and foremost a nympho. A lot of these poems are as meaningless as the sex she compulsively has, and I just didn’t care about them. However, there are a few good poems here. I would love to see what Nichole could write if she wasn’t obsessed with men, you know, someday when she has matured into an actual person.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took my time reading this in short sections, a few poems at a time. I had to stop frequently just to fully sit with what I just read because Nichole is so excellent at bringing up feelings and setting a specific tone with her poems. They feel extremely personal and universal at the same time. I've enjoyed everything Nichole has done in media and this is no exception. I hope to read more from her.

[Andréa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first poetry book I purchased, and I'm really glad it's Nichole's. It's incredibly vivid, vulnerable, and just beautiful. Athena of Nashville is probably my favourite, and the last line "I was born armored against his loss, but my shield hangs too loosely." will probably stay with me for a while.

[Meg Tuite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perkins is a master of language and depth! WOW! I could not put this down! Underlined most of it, but here are some stunning quotes:
"You've never liked talking to strangers,
especially men whose eyes
want someone to pay
for the dirt under their fingernails."
"These men say your pretty hasn't arrived
yet they follow you home,
their hands active in pockets with no change.

What will they do when your face pleases them?"

"He is from a place of night and snow,
where I don't exist beyond a TV screen."

"...but you are inelegant in your smallness,
your walk a jagged cardiogram
of the unending music in your head."

"I slept for a bit,
the beat of who you were, that day,
drowning out the danger circling above us."

I could keep going, but will leave it to you to GET A COPY! Published by the spectacular "PUBLISHING GENIUS" with Adam Robinson!
Don't miss this one! It's mesmerizing, vulnerable, fierce, and unforgettable! DEEP LOVE!

[Malia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore Nichole on the Thirst Aid Kit podcast so I had to check out her poetry. If you listen to her podcast she's a very sensory/sensual kind of person, and I think her poetry is best when she leans into that.

One of the poems really stopped me in my tracks at the last line, which is rare and welcome.

I also completely love that she wrote a poem about the ABOMINABLE xojane article about black women and yoga (https://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to...) Bless that whole mess.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous collection of poems. I couldn’t stop myself from reading it in one sitting, and I know I’ll be reading it again very soon. I rarely feel “seen” while reading poetry, but Perkins has such a gift with words. Lilith, but Dark is a treat.

[TinyHero · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got to the poem about the love interest scraping layers of plaque off his teeth, then holding it up proudly... and decided that was enough for me. Just because something happens doesn't mean you have to write a poem about it, yuck.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I flew through this book in a single sitting. Passion and loss, self-love and self-loathing, friendship and family, Nichole Perkins covers it all with a grace and voice that left me in tears and/or speechless at multiple points. I cannot wait to see what she will do next.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to read it all again right away.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

The personal is political in this collection of wonderful poems from Nichole Perkins. Beautiful and hard-hitting. Worth a read.

[Alexa Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful collection! I was already a fan of this writer from the Thirst Aid Kit podcast. But now I am absolutely in awe of her talent.

[sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

…
I think I accidentally stumbled onto to insta poetry lol, skimmed in maybe 20min

anyone have some poetry recs??

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

That voice, man, and the precision of memory is just fantastic here. "Hoodoo" immediately stood out to me for its comedy and the very real texture of a relationship.

[Christopher Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

" The way meaning builds on images or colors, the callbacks, how poems earlier in the collection are illuminated by the later poems, and then re-illuminated when read again from beginning to end. It works very much like life—the wisdom Perkins gains is used to reflect back on those earlier experiences, giving them their meaning. She takes us from a series of childhood memories through an adulthood bubbling with joy and love and heartache and loss and pain, and then, in the end, we’re brought back to that little girl again, in “Avon for Life,” the final poem. A moment of play, this time her mother’s makeup and perfumes her tools; she is taking in all their wonders, mysteries. But she is no longer confused or naïve about the world."

Full review: https://www.barrelhousemag.com/online...