Trouble Can Be So Beautiful at the Beginning

by Shuly Xóchitl Cawood

"Born and raised in Ohio, Shuly Xóchitl Cawood moved to the South over two decades ago and has also lived and traveled in her mother's native country of Mexico. She writes about all of these places in her debut poetry collection, Trouble Can Be So Beautiful at the Beginning, using their landscape and culture as a backdrop and a contrast to consider her identity and what it means to migrate from one location to another, how a place's values and societal expectations can shape who you are and who you become, and how you can be both a part of something and apart from it. The theme of migration also widens out to include the shift from one reality to another as well as from one perspective to another. Many of these poems interrogate memories-some that are inherited, some that are secret, some that are supposed-and find meaning in them, and at times, truth. Cawood uses autobiography and imagination in her poems to consider the what it means to be young, to fall in and out of love, to break and become stronger, to face tragedy and fear and come out weaker or stronger, to struggle with power, and to let go of those we love not because of lack of feeling but because of earned wisdom. Trouble Can Be So Beautiful at the Beginning tells stories about what it means to uncover truths about oneself, about the people we love, and about the people we come from"--

Genres: Poetry

69 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2021

About the author

Shuly Xóchitl Cawood is the author of the poetry collection SOMETHING SO GOOD IT CAN NEVER BE ENOUGH (Press 53, 2023); the flash essay collection WHAT THE FORTUNE TELLER WOULD HAVE SAID, winner of the 2022 Iron Horse Literary Review Chapbook Competition; the poetry collection TROUBLE CAN BE SO BEAUTIFUL AT THE BEGINNING (Mercer University Press, 2021), winner of the Adrienne Bond Award for Poetry; the short story collection A SMALL THING TO WANT (Press 53, 2020), winner of the 2021 Independent Publisher Bronze Medal for Short Fiction; the memoir THE GOING AND GOODBYE (Platypus Press, 2017); and the little advice book 52 THINGS I WISH I HAD TOLD MYSELF WHEN I WAS 17 (Cimarron Books, 2018).

Learn more at  www.shulycawood.com.

Reviews

[Robin Gustafson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful collection of poems. Memories are so powerful and it's fascinating to think about how they can change over time. I love how these poems evoke this power. As a reader, I could taste the food described, experience the dust of the many roads traveled, and sense the longing, loss, and transformation within the text. A few of my favorite poems in the collection are Inheritance (I won't forget great aunt Eloise!), Secret Ingredient, and Lost in Tennessee

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of poetry carries us across the country and into Mexico, from love and loss to hope and heartache. A beautiful collection of poems that captures the emotion and spirit of a woman tethered by love and family.

from Trouble Can Be So Beautiful at the Beginning: "The way he leans in and says, I promise, / his copper like pennies / you have plenty of, that you don't think / one day it will be so hard to lose."

from Immigrant: "the way lightning / rips open the belly of sky so you can't look at it without seeing / disaster"

[Melissa Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was honored to blurb this book, which I'll repeat here:

The poems in Trouble Can Be So Beautiful in the Beginning are more than poems. They are old photos in a family album, handwritten recipes in a tin box. In this beautiful collection, Shuly Xóchitl Cawood examines what it means to be human—the places that hold us, the people we lose. Each poem, its “small, still words a sigh / of ink,” helps us recognize who we are and remember who we used to be. Cawood’s words are “soft as water / stronger than an undertow.” Her poems are time machines, love letters. Maps marked up with stars.

[Carla Sameth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This stunning new collection of poetry by the talented poet Shuly Xóchitl Cawood is a must-read! There are so many wonderful sensory details, the stories are riveting and the writing is gorgeous. This book took me on a delightful journey with each new poem I read. I'd follow this author anywhere!

[Peggy Heitmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, the title, oh my gosh the title is wonderful. Trouble Can Be So Beautiful at the Beginning. Oh, my, I wish I had a dollar for every time I proved that to be true. Shuly is a narrative poet, and a compelling storyteller. My notes in this book say things like "very powerful," "strong ending," and "I like this very much." My favorite poems are "Mother," "Roots," and "Perhaps It Is Useless To Tell You Now." I really enjoyed this collection of poems. You will too.

[Lisa Livesay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so grateful that Ms. Cawood's work has come into my life. Her poetry is absolutely beautiful, it's a balm to the soul. She has an impressive mastery of her craft. Here is one gem among many that stood out to me in this collection:

Lost in Tennessee

When you don't know who you are,
go outside. Look up

through the branches of big trees - maple, sweet gum, poplar.
The leaves know how to drink the light, how to use it to live,
how to throw shadows on the ground. Listen

to the birds - brown thrasher and white-throated sparrow.
They know when to sing, they know when silence matters.

Touch the grass - tall fescue or zoysia, makes no difference.
It knows how to grow
after each cut.

Watch the weeds in the field - black medic and wild carrot.
They know how to take over
they know not to take no for an answer
they know to bloom anyway.

A couple other favorites from this collection: "The Day After Getting Back the Medical Test Results," "This Way Home," "Binding," and "An Unexpected Visitor." Her poems alternate between prose poems and more structured poems, often sharing glimpses of her life, her family, her relationships.

Do yourself a favor and spend some time listening to Ms. Cawood sing.

[Erika Wood-Heidemann · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I like most about this collection of poems is that each one feels like a capsule “story” when I read it. Shuly is able to capture the profundity of the mundane, which isn’t easy, and for me, the mundane is often the most interesting part of life because that’s where I can find parallels to my own existence. She writes about the human condition with honesty and a clear head. I admire her openness and willingness to bare her soul a little bit within these pages. It’s easy to connect to a deeper level of feeling within yourself as you read these varied and layered pieces of Shuly’s heart. Trouble Can Be So Beautiful At The Beginning is time well spent. I highly recommend it for anyone who would like to give poetry a try. You won’t be disappointed.

[Karenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic collection!! Lyrical and wise, these poems are ones you will want to memorize so that you can repeat them to yourself regularly. The images and themes cover a wide variety, but heartbreak, female empowerment, and food are three that reoccur (to give you an idea of the content).