Nocturnal

by Wilder Poetry

Nocturnal is a collection of words and imagery inspired by darkened skies and sleepless nights. it is a journey of healing and self-discovery whether love stays or leaves. it is dreaming with your eyes wide open while the rest of the world is hiding.

--
and when they ask me,
are you afraid of the dark?
i will remind them that
there’s nothing to fear
when the night is a reason
we can see how honest
everything shines
while the rest of the world
is hiding.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Contemporary, Poetry Plays, Mental Health, Adult, Spirituality

86 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2018

Reviews

[Marie // Callisto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know poetry is subjective and intuitive, but this is how I feel about "Nocturnal": It brought me joy, because some poems mangaged it to express how I feel and I was stunned and other poems where exactly the words I needed to hear. And also, at some points I had to stop and admire the beauty of the style and I was wishing I had written it :)
I will read it again tomorrow and the day after that to keep this work of art in mind.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 4 out of 5]

i've always been told that
i was born chasing sunsets, but
sometimes i wonder if i'm really
just trying to find a way
to be in two places at once.

Nocturnal is an interesting collection; it doesn't ever settle on just one main theme, but seems to flit between love and loss, insecurities and self-love, all tossed with a healthy focus on nature and all the healing it can offer us.

my heart tends to live
in the wrong place at
the right time,
but i've always loved
the sound of rain
on a sunny day
and the moon after
sunrise.

So many of the poems in this collection resonated deeply with me, particularly the creator's acknowledgement of their own patient-to-a-fault attitude towards toxic partners (been there!). More than anything, I loved the sections on self-love, and would have enjoyed more of those scattered throughout. The only reason I'm giving this 4 instead of 5 stars is that some of the pieces felt repetitive or out of place in the grand scheme.



I also feel like I can't complete this review without showing you an example of what I mean when I say that this is, without a doubt, the most visually beautiful poetry collection I have ever seen. It's filled with illustrations and watercolor scenery that lend the most incredible atmospheric touches.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Dannii Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

i have wept
for beautiful things,
raising flowers with my rain.

This poetry anthology entwines awe of the changing natural world with the many human responses to love. This was full of many beautiful lines but, for some reason, I failed to deeply connect with them. Perhaps I was merely too highly anticipating this collection, due to its themes, and was searching for something other than what it had to deliver. I still found a deep admiration for the contents, however.

I also adored the artwork that featured alongside these poems. All were in tones of black, grey, and white and all either depicted lunar beauty, the wildness of the trees, or were purely abstract and open for individual interpretation.

I'll close this review with one of my favourite poems, to give a better feel for the style and themes present:

i may trip over my feet
more times than i can count,
but these scrapes and bruises
remind me that my knees
were meant to touch the earth
because every climb worth knowing
begins with a prayer.

BLEEDING

[Kira · Rating 2 out of 5]

Welp, started this year off with a dud. The poetry collection has such high reviews and, upon flipping through, such gorgeous illustrations. The problem with this collection is that these poems don’t do anything that hasn’t been done a thousand and one times. The poetry was just that same old, boring tumblr style that everyone seems to think they can write.

[Tyler Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me fighting with Hoopla for nearly an entire day and having to read this (incredibly slowly because of how long it would take to load) on the PC might have impacted my enjoyment of it. However, I still enjoyed it. Very beautiful poetry and pictures. I'm going to have to buy a physical copy. :)

[Julia Sapphire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent a copy of this collection by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This collection is divided into four parts, dusk, northern lights, howl, and lucid dreams.
A significant theme within this is nature and how we as humans perceive the world. Also how we can find inspiration all around us.

The formatting of this is BEAUTIFUL. From the contrast of pages to the fonts to the illustrations. It is absolutely stunning.

It also talks about darkness, in the metaphorical sense but also physically.

"a heart was made
to live in the dark; maybe we were, too.

This was a beautiful collection overall, from the writing to the formatting.
I love how this dealt with nature and how the poems reflected that.

[Martina Oliva · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of poems that has pleasantly kept me company on these winter nights - very intimate, unique and original poems that ranging from love to solitude, from family relationships to nature. The graphic component is also very beautiful! The illustrations are the perfect frame for poetry so true and sincere.

I recommend this collection to all the introverted souls that will find a friend in Wilder and a sincere comfort in her words.

[Krissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the layout and artwork in this poetry collection. The writing was nice and it was an easy, relaxing read.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure if I would like this book or not, as I rarely read poetry. But I’m glad I took a chance on it. Several of the poems in this collection I could really relate to and some of them had a touch of encouragement, at least for me. I do recommend this one to anyone who likes poetry, is wanting to give it a try or has feelings of being lost or hurt and alone. Some may make you think that, but it isn’t always so. A great read! 🐾🌙✨

[Sassy Sarah Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nocturnal by Wilder

3 stars

“i’m still trying
to find the parts of me
i left hidden
between pages
of a story i never
wanted to forget,
but you were always
in the last place
i looked.”

Nocturnal is a small collection of poems. There are short poems and long poems. There’s art and a collection of emotion and heart. It’s good to see such heart being placed into each page of this collection. I personally wasn’t enamored with this collection. I liked it. This is a simple and heartfelt collection, but it didn’t stick with me. It’s been a couple of days since I’ve read this one and I’ve already forgot most of the poems and the way that it made me feel. This is a collection that will either stick with you forever or fade away from your memory. As a reader, it’s up to you to decide if you want to pick this collection up.

Whimsical Writing Scale: 3

Plotastic Scale: 3

Cover Thoughts: It’s a beautiful and simple cover.

Thank you, Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing, for providing with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

[Bree Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been reading some meh okay poetry lately it feels then BAM! I read this one by Wilder and oh my goodness. All that crap has been worth it because it somehow lead me to Nocturnal.

‘You were rough around the edges, and I was too many words written on folded paper, hidden under photographs.’

I loved this. Highly recommend.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

”My body is in a deep sleep,
but my heart still feels the ache
and I’m waiting for a dream
to shake the rest of me awake.”

This was an okay collection! I really liked the night-time theme and the illustrations were absolutely stunning. Overall, the aesthetic of this collection is worth 5 stars.

The poems, however, were pretty lackluster for me. My favorite one was the one I quoted ^^^. The rest of it didn’t impact me very much.

I could see myself reading this again and appreciating it more when I’m at a different, maybe more melancholy time in my life. I hope I never go through a melancholy season again but HEY! Life happens. If I had read this a year/year and a half ago I think it would have connected better with me. But thats okay! I still liked it well enough.

The poems are meh, the theme is solid, and the illustrations are fantastic.

[Steffy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why I keep reading modern poetry because they simply don't do it for me. It's like reading my own diary entries when I was sixteen. Not poetic, just thoughts spread pinto sections in order to fill the pages. There are so many beautiful words in the English language, please, make use of them. While the worded phrases didn't really touch me, the visuals and artworks were absolutely lovely!

[Gedankenlabor · Rating 5 out of 5]

>>silence isn't lonely<<
„NOCTURNAL“ von Wilder Poetry ist ein wie ich finde unglaublich wundervolles kleines Werk! Sowohl außen als auch von innen ist es einfach wunderschön und besticht für mich persönlich nicht nur mit seiner optischen Schönheit, sondern verzaubert mit seinen Worten ebenfalls. Dieses Buch war für mich ein perfekter Begleiter für späte Abende, in denen selbst eine gewisse Poesie liegt, wie ich finde. Die poetischen Zeilen des Buches haben mir zum einen schöne Anreize zum nachdenken gegeben, aber eben auch mein Herz berührt und von Liebe, Schatten und Spiritualität erzählt, was mir wirklich sehr gut gefallen hat! Für mich hat dieses Buch immer wieder bei jedem Lesen heilsame Spuren mit einem Hauch Melancholie hinterlassen, ein ganz besonderes Gefühl.
Wer Poesie liebt und der englischen Sprache nicht abgeneigt ist, dem kann ich dieses Werk absolut ans Herz legen!

[Jessica C · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I was given an e-ARC on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

This collection was good. I enjoyed many of the poems, but not enough to love this collection. The ones I found myself loving were the longer poems that had more substance. The shorter ones just felt too superficial. I needed more from them- more meaning, a deeper feeling. This was definitely a solid collection, I just think some of the poems need to be fleshed out more to create a greater connection for the reader. Not bad, though.

[The Local Spooky Hermit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean I don't really read poetry, ever. So I can't really tell you if its bad or good, but I enjoyed it. And its got neat art too. :) so I'm keeping it.

[Dana Cristiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another perfect poetry book!

I would love to thank Wilder, Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for this gorgeous book in exchange for an honest review.

This book has quality poems and amazing pictures! If you loved "milk & honey" by Rupi Kaur, I highly recommend this book!

there is something graceful
about the way time passes by -
how it gives itself away,
never knowing whose hands
will stop to hold it before
it leaves.

They told me to run like
The Wind but I was the one creating it.

and if the world stops,
all i want is a little more forever
with you.

And many more! I totally recommend it!

[Etienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5. Good enough poetry book. I did find the poem to be a bit repetitive, the same themes sure are all over the place. The writing style is sure kind of light/easy poetry as far as I'm concern, which isn't necessarily a bad thing and the style of poetry also feel kind of young. I didn't check it up (lazy me), but the author s probably young enough and even if it,s a bit dark, I think it would please young reader, teenagers, more then it did to me. A good way to introduces teenagers to poetry, a prose that is light but good and a poetry book that is above the average of that type of book! Better then expected!

[stefiereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I actually love this book!
The illustrations and the poetry really compliment each other and make a wonderful experience to read it.
I read this book at night, with a slow instrument in the background, and I felt the world is so quiet and the timing was just perfect to read it.

I usually I have a little problem poetry, in a sense of me can feel the connection with the poem itself or not. And even though it happened with few poems, I still love this book so much. Wilder’s writing is so great. It’s so easy to understand but not cheap♥️

[emiliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

read : 3rd of mar. 2024 - 3rd of mar. 2024

⭑⭑⭑

[Lana Amir · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would hate on how generic this was but I know teenage me would've eaten every single word up! So younger me would have given it a five star. But the older and depressingly wiser me would say this is very cringy with some of the poems being my type of cringy (I still love a healthy dose of uplifting cringe content at heart)!

[Kayla Anne Covert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't be more impressed with this book. Although small in size, every page packs a heartfelt punch that will have you longing for a quiet place to read it over and over again. The graphics within these pages and the way they so elegantly connect with the words and with each other demonstrate just how well thought out this book is. I adore Nocturnal and fully plan on purchasing it for several people in my life who I feel would benefit from this quality of poetic writing and storytelling.

[Muriel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uninspired Instagram poetry at it's finest. Minimalism isn't an aesthetic tool, if you just can't do anything else. The human language is so rich, why not use it a little?

[katyjanereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. I LOVED THE DRAWINGS/ART IN THIS SO MUCH!!!
2. I loved the Lucid Dreams part where the opposite pages had a saying.
3. Poems I loved and why
“I have wept
for beautiful things,
raising flowers with my rain.”
-I love that the tears are the thing that brought beauty.

“This is how i pour myself
into all of the spaces
i never knew i could fit,
like a sun that finds
the smallest corners through
fingerprinted glass.
it isn’t always graceful,
but becoming never is.”
-I just love the idea that good things can still come from the bad.

“i hide
behind closed blinds
during daylight
and bury my skin
under blankets that
know me better
than i do.
i hope someday
the light will find a way
through the cracks
while i stand from
the outside looking in
so i can tell her,
i love you
and i always will.
-self love
--Relateable honestly. I want to go under my covers right now.

“one day i will
remember
the bravery-
this storm beneath
my skin.
you couldn’t see me,
but you knew i was coming.”
-I just like the warcry of this.

“a heart was made
to live in the dark;
maybe we were too.”
-Maybe we were meant so that we appreciate the light.

“you loved me quietly
like footprints in the snow.
(you were there and I wasn’t expecting you.)
-Maybe everyone’s loves are around they just don’t notice them yet.

“i will find you
in between shades of
dusk and twilight.
i will balance you gently
on my fingers
and save you from
falling into glass jars.
i will set you free
knowing that their
eyes should see
how you hold on
to your own light.
i will watch you fade
into the trees and wait
until i find mine.
-fireflies.
--I get The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath vibes from this.

“and when they ask me
are you afraid of the dark?
i will remind them that
there’s nothing to fear
when the night is a reason
we can see how honest
everything shines
while the rest of the world
is hiding.”
-This just melted my heart.

“silence isn’t lonely.
-things the moon taught me”
--Yes! love the silence. There’s learning and self discovery in the silences.
“these hands have
memorized
so many beautiful things.
even in the dark,
i always know where
to find you.”
-My husband and I once grasped hands in the middle of the night while we were asleep and woke up like that.

“i’ve cried wolf
again and again.
you call it desperation, but
maybe it’s my way
of letting you know
that i’m here whether
you’re coming or not.”
-This is just beautiful to me

“you told me that you
dream in colour.
that it was like you
could wrap your arms
around them and forget
what you left behind.
i know we live in different world,
but I promise, you do not need
to look very hard to find me-
maybe i’ll remind you of all the
reasons you want to stay.
-a star in your day”
--This reminded me of the book Topaz by Rachel Tremblay

“home has a way
of letting the most
beautiful people
hold your hand.”
-THE BEAUTY OF THIS.

“some things are left unsaid
like stories resting on nightstands
waiting to be held again,
but i will always remember
the way you folded
me at my corners
like there was a part of me
you wanted to come back to.”
-I just love this because I’m a huge reader and it’s relatable.

TO A FLAME
“i saw the fire burning,
but i didn’t thing that you
would throw me in.
(your flag was red and mine was white.)
-

“i’ve grown tired of fighting
this war against my body.
beneath the skin we all look the same”
SKELETON
-WE ARE ALL THE SAME AND I LOVE THIS!

“THE SUN
she built me up
like a mountain at sunrise
and painted my sky
with gentle hands.
and when she told me
i could be anything, i believed her
because i saw
how much i could grow
with even a little of her light.
-mama”
---How I feel about my mom <3

[Renee Godding · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have come to realise over the years that contemporary poetry might not be for me, so take my review with a grain of salt. From a semi-objective point of view, I can see how this collection could be a gem to fans of the genre, even though it did little for me personally.

Nocturnal is a stunningly formatted and designed collection of poems centering around a theme of darkness, the starry skies and the silent thoughts that roam sleepless nights, accompanied by gray-scale illustrations. I'm a sucker for the combination of multiple artforms, which was what drew me to this collection in the first place. In that regard, it didn't disappoint. Although the poems themselves didn't do much for me personally, they work synnergetically with the illustrations to create something stronger than the sum of their parts.
I'd recommend this collection to fans of poetry in the style of Rupi Kaur or Atticus.

[fer bañuelos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quien diría que este iba a ser de los poemarios contemporáneos que mas me gustarían.

Puedo decir con segurida que Nocturnal me gustó demasiado de principio a fin. Este es de esos casos donde me identifique fuertemente con muchos, por no decir casi todos, de los poemas dentro de esta colección. Habían frases y poemas completos que me daban justo donde duele y sentía ese nivel de relatableness que me encantó.

Una de las razones por las cuales lo amé tanto es porque usa mucho la luna, las estrellas y la noche en los poemas, y esas son de mis figuras favoritas en la literatura. Me inspira mucho la manera en la que cada uno se pueda relacionar con ellas y los diferentes significados que lo podamos dar, así que estos poemas parecían estar escritos para mí.

Además, leí este libro durante mi cruda literaria gracias a Ciudad del Fuego Celestial y puedo decir que hizo su cometido y me ayudo a dejar de sufrir y a volverme a meter en el mood lector.

Definitivamente estaré leyendo más de Wilder Poetry, ya que hay potencial de convertirse en una poeta favorita.

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

i still have scarred knees from crawling
through my devastation, but somewhere
along the way i found a man who understood
my wreckage. he did not try to put me back
together, he did not try to "fix" me.

instead, he never stopped looking for me.
and now I feel the difference. sometimes,
love is meant to come undone. sometimes,
it's knowing you've found someone who will
never stop finding you.

A quick and light read that I enjoyed. I love the entire aesthetics of this book, from the colours (shades of white, grey and black whether it's the cover, pages or text) and illustrations to the theme (galaxies, nights, dreams, love and loss etc) and vibe (whimsical, serenity etc).

Beauty goes beyond skin deep for this book, whose content and poems were as enjoyable as its appearance, unlike modern poetry books. Definitely looking forward to checking out the author's other works.

celebrate
your survival.
find your arms
and hold on to hope,
knowing it is yours
to lose.

in the end,
you don't need
anyone else to
make you feel
alive.

[Menestrella · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite poem was Butterfly. Simply beautiful.

[Jordon Greene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read Wilder’s poetry on Instagram, and fell in love with it, and it even inspired some of my own writing. But finally getting to read this entire collection was wonderful, especially during this phase of my life. So many of the poems spoke to me, and moved me. It’s such a beautiful collection.

[Sasha Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry collection is charming and it understands me. This a book that must be read as a physical copy, the Kindle Edition does not do justice to its beauty. Every word, every page, every passage, and every poem was beautiful.