My Deity Named Pride

by Jadedisland

What do you learn when you step out into a world of temptations after recovery? In this collection of poetry Jadedisland breaks down faith, modern society, and anger. Built upon the cost of personal pride, this is the story of what one does to battle imperfection and personal demons.

92 pages, Paperback

Published May 12, 2021

About the author

Jadedisland is a writer from Maryland who works within alternative fashion spaces and creative communities to encourage and uplift personal narratives and creative expression. Jade knows that finding personal acceptance and creative pursuits are fulfilling and necessary for growth. While Jadedisland is best known for her life as a Jfashion enthusiast, pink energy magical girl, and storyteller across social media, she is a vocal advocate and bookworm full-time. Her life as a kawaii Black femme has led to an award-winning web series; Noir 365, the non-profit Kawaii Riot, and the DC Web fest gold award for digital expression and local hero. She studied English literature and psychology at Elmira College but continues her education by experiencing the world and new perspectives.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received an advance copy of this title in return for an honest review.

These poems of a young femme adult exploring not only their pride but their relationship to themselves and others includes mostly page-long works but some longer ones and some prose explanations. The author uses metaphor in a way that is often fresh and rarely contrived or difficult. Themes include pride of course (the title poem is one of my favorites) but also touch on lust and wrath as well as appearance vs. one's inner self, friendships, sexual relationships (not explicit but sometimes sensual description) and reaching for personal freedom. (Let Us Be Free is another favorite poem of mine). Descriptions of emotion are often intense; some phrases fall flat to me but others bravely draw me into the author's experience. The author's explorations of self, for example in the title poem, describe both positive and negative aspects of the characteristic being described.

More than twenty photos of the author, some as part of the printing and others slipped in between the pages, seem to relate to the poem, prose-poem, or explanation on those pages. I can't see a reason for which are in the book and which aren't (perhaps it was a printing issue) and the photos falling out were occasionally distracting. They are rich in both the author's unique, artistic styles of clothing, equally fantastic makeup (designed by the photographer, who is quite skilled in both areas), and facial expressions--most of which seem to be masks or still expressions of a set of emotions.

I look forward to seeing and reading how Jadedisland develops their gifts as a poet and their self-awareness and additional growth as a person.

[Quentin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Deity named Pride is a moment of peace and calm as you come home to people who understand you. It’s a reminder that disobeying the dominant social narrative is, oftentimes, key to your survival. You just have to find your own strength and power to keep moving.