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BloodFresh
BloodFresh is a celebration of identity. Ebony Stewart reclaims her own narrative to speak against the racism and colorism she’s experienced, while criticizing society’s treatment of women as sexual objects. This collection reaffirms the reader through storytelling as an open letter to retell, acknowledge, overcome, and learn new ways to use poetry as a coping technique. As BloodFresh reflects the importance of owning your own space, Stewart carves out a home for herself, her poems, and all of the readers who take refuge in her words.
- GenresPoetryNonfiction
112 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2022
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1796 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
January 3, 2022
Thank you, Button Publishing Inc, for the advance reading copy.
This is my personal favourite! I wish I read this collection before I read the author's other poetry collection.
This collection hits home more for me as I can relate and connect to most of the issues expressed in between the lines.
This collection is rather outspoken and straightforward. I love how the author speaks to the different people in our so called society regarding the disrespect shown to the younger disregarding our wants and needs and forcing their ideas on them. The best part is there when the author speaks up about the gender role discrimination.
The general themes cover racial/skin colour discrimination, gender discrimination, body shaming, sexual orientation and mental health.
However, for the Covid pandemic part could have been better and the usage of strong language in some parts could have been toned down a bit.
A nice quick read.
This is my personal favourite! I wish I read this collection before I read the author's other poetry collection.
This collection hits home more for me as I can relate and connect to most of the issues expressed in between the lines.
This collection is rather outspoken and straightforward. I love how the author speaks to the different people in our so called society regarding the disrespect shown to the younger disregarding our wants and needs and forcing their ideas on them. The best part is there when the author speaks up about the gender role discrimination.
The general themes cover racial/skin colour discrimination, gender discrimination, body shaming, sexual orientation and mental health.
However, for the Covid pandemic part could have been better and the usage of strong language in some parts could have been toned down a bit.
A nice quick read.
December 19, 2021
This collection of poetry touches on many different topics from female empowerment, racism, mental health, losing a loved one, suicide, etc, and the main focus of this collection of poetry is of women of colour. I really enjoyed this collection of poems and I think this book will end up in a lot of people’s homes along with schools and colleges when it’s released next year.
Thoroughly recommend reading this one. Thanks NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
Thoroughly recommend reading this one. Thanks NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
March 29, 2022
This book of poetry is beautiful, honest, flowing, and lush. It is confident and poignant and intelligent. It did take me some time to read it--I read in sporadic bursts when I felt I could be most receptive to the language and themes in Ebony Stewart's writing. Read this love letter to Black women and to Self, you will not be disappointed.
January 7, 2024
I thought this was a solid collection of poetry. I would like to revisit the poems that talk about God sometime after I've had some time to process them. Outside of the theme of God, my Favorites were:
-Beasts
-Affirmation #___
-Pockets
-Bodied
-Tantrums or How to be a poet in six steps
-The art of quilting
-Beasts
-Affirmation #___
-Pockets
-Bodied
-Tantrums or How to be a poet in six steps
-The art of quilting
February 22, 2022
I enjoyed this more than I did Home. Girl. Hood. Deep, beautiful writing, and I felt the words leap off the page. I wouldn't give this to a younger teen, but definitely for those 18+. Enjoyable and I plan to read more from her for sure!
March 14, 2022
4.5 stars. I enjoyed the second half of this collection more than the first. I may go back and reread this at some point because it is possible I just wasn't in the mood for poetry. Review to come.
February 24, 2022
Instead of telling you what I think about this book, I'll simply copy and paste some of the quotes and lines from this book that left lasting impressions on my mind.
I get so annoyed
when old men try to
holla at me.
Sir. Unless you plan
on making me a
beneficiary & dying
in the next few days
please leave me alone.
Because being a mother is not a luxury
And that is what it means to be a writer, too.
So... soooo incest and gang rape should be excused or kept secret
but a boy kissing another boy is where you draw vigilance?
Somebody said if your path is more difficult, it's because your calling is higher.
Sometimes,
I think I wrote this poem because I'll never forget.
Other times,
I think I wrote this because of how easily we forget.
January 26, 2022
If you are a woman, you should read this collection of poetry. If you are a woman of colour, visible minority or not any of those things you should read this collection of poetry. If you struggle with mental health and the tragedies of life - say it with me now: you should read this collection of poetry.
Here's the part where I scramble to explain my less than 5star review of this amazing work of art. Simply put, I didn't check off all the boxes for the intended audience. The biggest one being I'm not black woman. So while I feel like I just got an insider's view of another woman's life and experience, there were parts that didn't resonate for me personally. Of course that's not the point of this poetry collection. It's just I base my reading rating off of my own personal connection to the things I read. In this case, that means the loss of half a star.
The other half of the lost star has to do with the tone and the style. I tend to love more of the modern poetry - the stuff some people label as one-sentence-tumblr-esc stuff. I prefer being more introspective with the poetry I read. Poetry that is more vague tends to be my preference. I also prefer calmer poetry. Poetry that feels like a warm hug or a cup of tea on a cold rainy day. In my bio I mention Lovelace and Peppernell, but Sin and Francesco are among my favourites as well.
The tone in this collection is EMPOWERING and BOLD - stanzas that shout and bleed and demand your complete and utter attention. I read this in one sitting because I couldn't stop. Stewarts writing was immaculate. I wish I could appreciate this style better.
But, regardless of my personal rating system, this is something everyone - especially every woman should read.
I will be looking for more of Stewarts work, and also the listed works at the end of the collection by other authors as well.
For anyone curious, my favourite poems of this collection are: a stronger lie, PIty Party, Mental Health_Barz, Gay God (oh this one gave me goosebumps), Coming Undone
Here's the part where I scramble to explain my less than 5star review of this amazing work of art. Simply put, I didn't check off all the boxes for the intended audience. The biggest one being I'm not black woman. So while I feel like I just got an insider's view of another woman's life and experience, there were parts that didn't resonate for me personally. Of course that's not the point of this poetry collection. It's just I base my reading rating off of my own personal connection to the things I read. In this case, that means the loss of half a star.
The other half of the lost star has to do with the tone and the style. I tend to love more of the modern poetry - the stuff some people label as one-sentence-tumblr-esc stuff. I prefer being more introspective with the poetry I read. Poetry that is more vague tends to be my preference. I also prefer calmer poetry. Poetry that feels like a warm hug or a cup of tea on a cold rainy day. In my bio I mention Lovelace and Peppernell, but Sin and Francesco are among my favourites as well.
The tone in this collection is EMPOWERING and BOLD - stanzas that shout and bleed and demand your complete and utter attention. I read this in one sitting because I couldn't stop. Stewarts writing was immaculate. I wish I could appreciate this style better.
But, regardless of my personal rating system, this is something everyone - especially every woman should read.
I will be looking for more of Stewarts work, and also the listed works at the end of the collection by other authors as well.
For anyone curious, my favourite poems of this collection are: a stronger lie, PIty Party, Mental Health_Barz, Gay God (oh this one gave me goosebumps), Coming Undone
March 4, 2022
Unfortunately I don't think this worked for me. I really liked some of the poems and stories in here, however I would say if your like me and not musically or rhythmically talented you may have a tough time. The way a lot of this was written it felt to me like it should be spoken word, however my brain does not have the capability to do that itself. If the author was to release an audiobook in the future I would however 100% give this another go.
There were multiple pieces I really loved and I could feel the intention behind a lot of the work in here even if my brain wasn't completely working with it.
Everything mentioned in the description came across in the work however there were also a lot of religious aspects in here and that I was not expecting from the description and it did put me off a little.
Overall a good book but I feel it would benefit from an audiobook version.
Thanks to @netgalley , the publishers @buttonpoetry and the author @gullyprincess for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
There were multiple pieces I really loved and I could feel the intention behind a lot of the work in here even if my brain wasn't completely working with it.
Everything mentioned in the description came across in the work however there were also a lot of religious aspects in here and that I was not expecting from the description and it did put me off a little.
Overall a good book but I feel it would benefit from an audiobook version.
Thanks to @netgalley , the publishers @buttonpoetry and the author @gullyprincess for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 11, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley, Ebony Stewart and Button Poetry for letting me read an arc of BloodFresh.
This is my second collection of poetry by Ebony Stewart and like the first I maintain I am not it's intended audience. But Stewart has a way of bringing me into her world of emotion and allowing someone who could not possible have her life experience, gain understanding in some small way.
I am personally in a different place then when I read Home.Girl.Hood so my emotional affinity with the rawness and rage in Stewart's poems is more detached. this time around. But instead I found solace in her ideas about womanhood, strength and mental health.. My favourites were:
"Pity Party",
"How We Forget - Covid 19 Files",
"A Stronger Lie",
"Coming Undone"
and "White Men Say Weird Things to Me".
I believe and hope Stewart has much more success ahead of her with the fighting power she pours onto her pages.
This is my second collection of poetry by Ebony Stewart and like the first I maintain I am not it's intended audience. But Stewart has a way of bringing me into her world of emotion and allowing someone who could not possible have her life experience, gain understanding in some small way.
I am personally in a different place then when I read Home.Girl.Hood so my emotional affinity with the rawness and rage in Stewart's poems is more detached. this time around. But instead I found solace in her ideas about womanhood, strength and mental health.. My favourites were:
"Pity Party",
"How We Forget - Covid 19 Files",
"A Stronger Lie",
"Coming Undone"
and "White Men Say Weird Things to Me".
I believe and hope Stewart has much more success ahead of her with the fighting power she pours onto her pages.
April 17, 2024
"the collective expression of love appears over 300 times because, above all things, God is love. And since everyone is made in God's image, how you gone tell God that God got the image wrong? Gay people are not gay to bother you, but, in fact, are a testament to goodness and God's grace of everything that tried to kill us, and God still loves gay people anyway. But you too busy doing the Devil's work. I'm jus sayin', if I'm going to Hell, I'll see you there too.
[...]
your heart is so full. Your love is just right. And so I say to you: hold on and love with all of your might. Do not shrink or shy away; you are the gift that brought jot to the whole room. Tell me what words you've been missing, so I can bloom you into healing [...] Love is love. [...] And the body remembers how to worship. So, glory be to a God who looks just like you."
Most of these poems didn't land with me personally, but the one above packed a punch.
[...]
your heart is so full. Your love is just right. And so I say to you: hold on and love with all of your might. Do not shrink or shy away; you are the gift that brought jot to the whole room. Tell me what words you've been missing, so I can bloom you into healing [...] Love is love. [...] And the body remembers how to worship. So, glory be to a God who looks just like you."
Most of these poems didn't land with me personally, but the one above packed a punch.
July 25, 2024
This book is full of poetry written with an urgency and authority of voice that nevertheless creates an intimate relationship between the speaker of the poems and the reader--it really does feel as if Stewart is speaking directly to you as you read. Troubling accepted norms and interrogating intersectional experiences of both joy and suffering, Stewart's book at times directly goads the reader, and provides a direct counterexample to the distant restraint of writing found in writing embraced in the world of academic poetry, all while inviting (but never begging) the reader to accompany her on the narrative of each poem. This book is, as promised, /fresh/--stylish, fun, informative, passionate, and it reads easy too! What more could you ask for?
January 17, 2022
I adored this collection.
It tackled important topics like Race, Mental Health, Feminism, and Grief while having the main focus be women of color. I think that it s one that people should read. I also believe it should be shared in schools and apple he’s even if if it’s a few poems every semester/year. They are all beautifully written and I think, especially with the current views of today’s younger generations, it’ll be well received with more Recognition it gets.
*thank you to NetGalley for this book
It tackled important topics like Race, Mental Health, Feminism, and Grief while having the main focus be women of color. I think that it s one that people should read. I also believe it should be shared in schools and apple he’s even if if it’s a few poems every semester/year. They are all beautifully written and I think, especially with the current views of today’s younger generations, it’ll be well received with more Recognition it gets.
*thank you to NetGalley for this book
February 16, 2022
BloodFresh is a mix of personal and political, as if the two aren’t interchangeable. There is revolution and evolution in these poems. We see Stewart grapple with concepts like racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and all their intersections, from both the point of view of the oppressed and ally.
I was not expecting the visual style of the poems; many of them resemble a piece of prose. However, the poems are fun, playing with sentence structure, capitalization, and word spelling. Many of the poems are written conversationally. I have seen Stewart perform her poems several times, so I read them in my head as if I were imagining them being spoken aloud. There was that edge to them to make them lyrical.
My favorite poem is Tantrums or How to be a Poet in Six Steps. It is a gentle dance between writing and mental health. For me, it whispered subtle truths for my own life, sending reverberations through me. The best poetry always does that for me. All her poems give me good vibes.
I read BloodFresh before I read Stewart’s other book Home.Girl.Hood. Part of me wishes I read them in order to see the growth from one collection to the other. Even though I didn’t read them in order, BloodFresh got me excited to read her other collection. You should read this book if you are looking to be moved by powerful poems that speak on mental health, vulnerability, and liberation.
I was not expecting the visual style of the poems; many of them resemble a piece of prose. However, the poems are fun, playing with sentence structure, capitalization, and word spelling. Many of the poems are written conversationally. I have seen Stewart perform her poems several times, so I read them in my head as if I were imagining them being spoken aloud. There was that edge to them to make them lyrical.
My favorite poem is Tantrums or How to be a Poet in Six Steps. It is a gentle dance between writing and mental health. For me, it whispered subtle truths for my own life, sending reverberations through me. The best poetry always does that for me. All her poems give me good vibes.
I read BloodFresh before I read Stewart’s other book Home.Girl.Hood. Part of me wishes I read them in order to see the growth from one collection to the other. Even though I didn’t read them in order, BloodFresh got me excited to read her other collection. You should read this book if you are looking to be moved by powerful poems that speak on mental health, vulnerability, and liberation.
April 21, 2022
I really enjoyed this collection. It was different. A lot of the poems are written in a more prose-like way but still have the lyrical quality of verse. All of them have bold honesty and straightforwardness. They beautifully address mental health, racism, and the experience of Black Womanhood, amongst many other topics. It would be wonderful to attend one of Stewart's performances.
.
My favorites from the collection:
-"This Poem Is about Joy"
-"Affirmation #____"
-"Burnt Sugar"
-"808s & Heartbreak"
-"White Men Say Weird Things to Me"
-"Pockets"
-"It's All Mental"
-"Coming Undone"
-"Gay God"
-"How We Forget: Covid-19 Files"
-"Pity Party"
-"Mental Health_Barz"
.
My favorites from the collection:
-"This Poem Is about Joy"
-"Affirmation #____"
-"Burnt Sugar"
-"808s & Heartbreak"
-"White Men Say Weird Things to Me"
-"Pockets"
-"It's All Mental"
-"Coming Undone"
-"Gay God"
-"How We Forget: Covid-19 Files"
-"Pity Party"
-"Mental Health_Barz"
November 22, 2022
I am not a fan of poetry. It's not something I go for when book shopping. I received this book from the giveaway and I can honestly say... I would have paid money for this and now I wish I had. Ebony takes the audience on such an amazing journey of ups and downs in life, and I think my favourite poem was probably the last one and the whole time I was reading it I was grinning ear from ear and thinking, this woman is so powerful, beautiful and amazing. Her mind is so intriguing.
10/10 amazing job Ebony! I can't wait to see what else you will publish!
10/10 amazing job Ebony! I can't wait to see what else you will publish!
December 6, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed these poems about Black women and the trauma they experience throughout their life. This is a book I can see being analyzed in a college class and I could write essays diving into the language and meaning behind each piece. My favorite piece was the comparison of Heart Failure to a Black woman and how the heart fails due to being overworked being compared to how much suffering women go through to harden themselves, sometimes without their own choice. Definitely recommend!
January 25, 2022
*ARC provided by both NetGalley and The Publisher in exchange for an honest review*
I loved 'Home.Girl.Hood' so when I saw another collection by Ebony Stewart on NetGalley I was really excited.
This collection was good, it has a lot of great themes and beautiful writing in it, but it wasn't as good as 'Home.Girl.Hood' for me.
I'm definitely interested in Stewart's other poetry though, and look forward to seeing what else they have.
3.5 Stars
I loved 'Home.Girl.Hood' so when I saw another collection by Ebony Stewart on NetGalley I was really excited.
This collection was good, it has a lot of great themes and beautiful writing in it, but it wasn't as good as 'Home.Girl.Hood' for me.
I'm definitely interested in Stewart's other poetry though, and look forward to seeing what else they have.
3.5 Stars
February 2, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley for accepting my request to read this book.
There were some poems in here that really struck a chord with me, and some that didn't.
However, this collection was a raw look into the perspective of black women and how they are treated and viewed by society.
Overall, it was an interesting read but would maybe resonate with others more.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
There were some poems in here that really struck a chord with me, and some that didn't.
However, this collection was a raw look into the perspective of black women and how they are treated and viewed by society.
Overall, it was an interesting read but would maybe resonate with others more.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
February 22, 2022
thank you netgalley and button publishing for an ARC of BloodFresh! I would highly recommend this collection of poetry and short stories. Ebony writes a celebration of identity. She uses her writing to own her voice to speak out against the things she’s experienced in her life. Racism, colorism, sexualization, objectification. These poems feel like a safe space to unite those who have experienced the same or similar things and moments in time.
March 2, 2022
After reading Home.Girl.Hood., I was so excited to find out that Ebony Stewart had a new collection of poetry coming out. This collection focuses primarily on women of color, but topics range from mental health, family, suicide, Covid-19/pandemic, etc.
My personal favorites in this collection Mental Health _Barz, Pity Party, and How We Forget: Covid-19 Files.
*Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.*
My personal favorites in this collection Mental Health _Barz, Pity Party, and How We Forget: Covid-19 Files.
*Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.*
December 11, 2021
Thank you netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC!
Poetry is an entirely subjective thing and I may not be the right person to rate this collection. As a whole it was a decent one and I will read this poet again; or hear them speak.
Poetry is an entirely subjective thing and I may not be the right person to rate this collection. As a whole it was a decent one and I will read this poet again; or hear them speak.
February 19, 2022
Like her shirt said “Black Women Don’t Miss”. Ebony’s poetry is on point! I have all four of Ebony’s books and I love each and every one of them. Thank you for blessing me and everyone else with your words.
February 20, 2022
An absolutely powerhouse of a writer, Ebony Stewart has made magic here. If you're looking for poetry that lets you settle in and savour powerful phrasing, evocative imagery, and the willingness to explore challenging topics with unflinching honesty, you need this book in your life immediately.
March 2, 2022
I couldn't put this down.
Ebony speaks true to so many experiences I've also had. I felt seen and heard reading this wonderful work.
Can't wait to read more!
Ebony speaks true to so many experiences I've also had. I felt seen and heard reading this wonderful work.
Can't wait to read more!
March 10, 2022
Mental Health barz is definitely my favorite poem in this!
March 12, 2022
This collection of poetry was fantastic. My favourite of Ebony Stewart's work so far. Highly reccomend.
September 25, 2022
A powerhouse. 🔥
September 8, 2023
2.5 stars
I really just couldn’t get into the prose in this. It’s well written but it doesn’t have the oomph I’m looking for.
I really just couldn’t get into the prose in this. It’s well written but it doesn’t have the oomph I’m looking for.
July 18, 2022
Fantastic. A bit adult for a high school library.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews