Small Altars

by Keli Stewart

Keli Stewart’s profound, visceral and heady debut poetry collection is simultaneously autobiographical memoir and social commentary in conversation. ¬ The narrator of Small Altars is at different times a girl learning from her elders and ancestors; a young woman coming of age; a single mother caring for her child; or a wise woman who conjures the spirits of her past. In the traditions of Gwendolyn Brooks’ A Street in Bronzeville, Lucille Clifton’s Good Woman, and Nikki Giovanni’s Love Poems, Small Altars renders this self-portrait in spirals and snapshots—sometimes with humor, sometimes with sentiment and memory—about the body, desire, motherhood and place around her identity as a Black woman while awakening keen observations of her ancestors with a griot’s voice.

“Black folks are not linear, we dip and dive into our lives, and there is ‘layering’ here,” says Stewart, a writer from Chicago’s West Side, about the structure of Small Altars. From the images of a struggling young mother in we accept LINK and Meditation for Poor Mothers to the humorous instances in Missionary Haiku and Self-portrait: Me with Hair Like Frederick Douglass to the reflective portrayal in My Grandfather Would Cry to the raw recall of awakening sexuality in pink things, Stewart’s collection illuminates conversations between the facets of one woman’s experiences to define the shape of her years, and stands as an inspiring exploration of gender, race and class in contemporary American life.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

First published August 24, 2021

Reviews

[Alicia (PrettyBrownEyeReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keli Stewart’s debut, Small Altars is a collection of all types of poetry. The poet uses long form, haiku and experimental pieces in this offering.

One of my favorite poems of the collection, Ode to a Black Satin Bonnet. In the poem, Stewart uses imagery and repetition in the ode to elicit the love for the Black Satin Bonnet. This poem is especially relevant with the recent conversations about the wearing of bonnets in public. There are other relevant themes: gender roles, classism, family relationships.

The cover is a piece of art in itself. It is a painting by Ayanna Bassiouni.

This is a must-read debut collection for poetry lovers.

Thanks to Kaye publicity for a review copy of this book.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite book of poetry. The author has obviously dealt with a lot throughout her life and has distilled some of it into this book. I didn’t find it very enthralling or enriching. Lots of stories about a difficult youth, relationships with people, and self-introspection.

[Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this poetry collection a couple days ago and I’m still thinking about it. It’s exceptional. I’m in awe of Keli Stewart’s use of language and the way I felt so seen by all of the poems.

[Megan McCarthy-Biank · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mother using SNAP benefits. A young girl discovering her sexuality. A woman in the throws of love. A child watching her mother come alive to the music of James Brown. These are just a few perspectives from which Keli Stewart writes in her collection of poems titled Small Altars. Whether you’re a lover of poetry or are looking for something outside of your comfort zone, add this one to your reading list.

Read my entire review on The Nerd Cantina website.