I Am No Battlefield but a Forest of Trees Growing

by Elvis Alves

"This collection is a meditation on the relationship between the life of faith and the affairs of the world--a world that appears more fragmented even with the promise of technology to bridge communities. The poems remind us of our role as agents of change and that, when we take responsibility for this role, we are practicing an effective form of spirituality. Infused with music and a deep sense of hope, I Am No Battlefield but a Forest of Trees Growing expresses longing for a better life and world. In each poem, author Elvis Alves calls attention to the black body--a site of resistance and celebration--using the language of survival" --

80 pages, Paperback

Published July 6, 2018

About the author

Elvis Alves (www.elvisalves.com) was born in Guyana and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He is a graduate of Colgate University and Princeton Theological Seminary. His work has appeared in several journals and magazines including Poetry Magazine, Sojourners, Transition, Caribbean Writer Journal, and The Applicant. Elvis is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet. He is the author of Bitter Melon (2013), Ota Benga (2017), I Am No Battlefield But A Forest Of Trees Growing (winner of the Jacopone da Todi Poetry Book Prize) (2018), Black/White: We Are Not Panic (Pandemic) Free (2020), Blackfish (2022), and This Is What I Know (2023). His latest book is Exile Is Home (2025). In 2025, he was a finalist for the Poetic Justice Institute Editor's Prize (Fordham University).

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a beautiful collection of poems that cover everything from spirit to saving our black bodies. I started putting little yellow post-its on the poems I wanted to reread - only to run out of post-its.

[Rouchswalwe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Alves continues to charge words with electricity and movement. His poetry is not only attuned to the times, it moves this reader with keen and impassioned language. The vivid nature of his expression stays with me.

I am already looking forward to his next collection.

[Cara Dobrev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many beautiful poems that gave me insight in to an experience I can not truly know. A few inscrutable poems, which I probably didn't understand because I do not have the life experience to understand them, and even fewer that I simply didn't like.

[Dana Britton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great work as usual by this brilliant poet!