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So, Stranger
Topaz Winters’ third poetry collection spans three countries & three generations. In a far-reaching & deftly-woven series of ars poeticas, Winters questions the boundary between the things we inherit & those we owe, stands at the grave of the American dream, & unspools the enormous grace & guilt of being loved. So, Stranger stands as a fixed mark between the shifting histories & futures of being a daughter, being an artist, & being an immigrant. If its reader begins as a stranger, they end as part of a lineage: one both of grief & glory, of distance & arrival.
- GenresPoetryLGBTNonfiction
72 pages, Paperback
First published May 17, 2022
1 person is currently reading
1884 people want to read
About the author
Topaz Winters
16 books206 followersI am a writer, artist, editor, performer, & author of So, Stranger (Button Poetry 2022, winner of the Button Poetry Short Form Contest & a LitBowl Best Poetry Book of 2022) & Portrait of My Body as a Crime I’m Still Committing (Button Poetry 2019 & 2024, finalist in the Broken River & Gaudy Boy Poetry Book Prizes). I serve as editor-in-chief of Half Mystic Press, an independent, international, & interdisciplinary publishing project, & as co-editor of Kopi Break, a journal of new Singapore poetry.
My poetry, fiction, & nonfiction have been published by The American Poetry Review, Foglifter, & Passages North, profiled in Vogue, The Straits Times, & The Business Times, & performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Centre for Fiction, & the Singapore Writers Festival. I am the recipient of fellowships from Sundress Publications, the National YoungArts Foundation, & Unearth Writing Retreats. In 2017 I gave the TEDx talk Healing Is a Verb. I’m the writer & star of the 2017 short film SUPERNOVA (recipient of awards from the Newark International, Across Asia Youth, Laurie Nelson, My Rode Reel, Singapore International Student, & CINE Golden Eagle Film Festivals), & from 2015 to 2022 I wrote the annual column Silver-Tipped Swallow for Half Mystic Journal.
I hold a B.A. in English with certificates in Creative Writing, Visual Art, & Italian from Princeton University. I live between New York & Singapore with a white dog named Hachii & a black cat named Volta.
My poetry, fiction, & nonfiction have been published by The American Poetry Review, Foglifter, & Passages North, profiled in Vogue, The Straits Times, & The Business Times, & performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Centre for Fiction, & the Singapore Writers Festival. I am the recipient of fellowships from Sundress Publications, the National YoungArts Foundation, & Unearth Writing Retreats. In 2017 I gave the TEDx talk Healing Is a Verb. I’m the writer & star of the 2017 short film SUPERNOVA (recipient of awards from the Newark International, Across Asia Youth, Laurie Nelson, My Rode Reel, Singapore International Student, & CINE Golden Eagle Film Festivals), & from 2015 to 2022 I wrote the annual column Silver-Tipped Swallow for Half Mystic Journal.
I hold a B.A. in English with certificates in Creative Writing, Visual Art, & Italian from Princeton University. I live between New York & Singapore with a white dog named Hachii & a black cat named Volta.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 2, 2022
step 1: have daddy issues
step 2: write a book about them
step 3: profit
step 2: write a book about them
step 3: profit
May 28, 2022
Topaz's latest work, So Stranger, is structured into six sections, each beginning with a poem that is an ars poetica. While each poem features her distinct voice and vulnerability, I was pleased to see that this collection demonstrates greater confidence and craftsmanship. It also touches on Topaz's family more than previous collections have. From her grandmother ("Ars Poetica III: This Must Be The Place"), mother ("Berkshire Lane") and her father ("Ship"), Topaz explores the ways family can both hurt her yet be sources of her own strength. Take the opening lines of "Ship", for example, my favourite poem in this collection:
One of my recent difficulties with contemporary page poetry is that a piece often feels narratively interesting but lacks structural integrity. Thankfully, when I look at "Ship", I am able to quickly understand the arrangement of details both on the sentence level and at the compositional level. The poem feels skilful in its unpacking of family dynamics, one where the speaker is intimately involved rather than emotionally distant from the whole process.
While there are clear poetic influences in some of these poems, most notably Richard Siken and Jenny Holzer's work, Topaz does indeed show greater confidence in her own voice. From the rhetorically intense to the more conversational, Topaz's collection shifts between different poetic forms and stanza formats, such that the reading process doesn't grow repetitive. I'm so pleased for her successes as a friend and pleased as a poet to find a collection I will enjoy and reread.
Imagine writing a father without writing a drowning.
For the longest time I recoiled when he touched me,
my body weighed down by that cureless mercy
of looking away. My glasses are smudged with
the things we've agreed never to say. The bottom
of my purse is scarred with his cologne. This
part hurts to write, which is probably why I don't.
Never mind. Let's reduce it to facts. In the photos
I am his spitting image, not the other way around.
My mother says you argue because you are so
alike, & I am too young to be this lonely around
the person who loves me most...
One of my recent difficulties with contemporary page poetry is that a piece often feels narratively interesting but lacks structural integrity. Thankfully, when I look at "Ship", I am able to quickly understand the arrangement of details both on the sentence level and at the compositional level. The poem feels skilful in its unpacking of family dynamics, one where the speaker is intimately involved rather than emotionally distant from the whole process.
While there are clear poetic influences in some of these poems, most notably Richard Siken and Jenny Holzer's work, Topaz does indeed show greater confidence in her own voice. From the rhetorically intense to the more conversational, Topaz's collection shifts between different poetic forms and stanza formats, such that the reading process doesn't grow repetitive. I'm so pleased for her successes as a friend and pleased as a poet to find a collection I will enjoy and reread.
March 29, 2022
What a beautiful, poignant series of pictures, glimpses into a life juggling the imbalance of conflicting identities.
Many passages are so well crafted I had to take a moment to think or read them a few times to really absorb their full meaning.
I recommend because:
- queer poetry!
- Winters' poetry feels very real and is accessible
- incredible one-liners that will make you stare at the wall and blink many times while you process what you just read
Thank you NetGalley and Button Poetry for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of So, Stranger.
Many passages are so well crafted I had to take a moment to think or read them a few times to really absorb their full meaning.
I recommend because:
- queer poetry!
- Winters' poetry feels very real and is accessible
- incredible one-liners that will make you stare at the wall and blink many times while you process what you just read
Thank you NetGalley and Button Poetry for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of So, Stranger.
May 23, 2023
So, Stranger is an absolutely enthralling poetry collection. Each word and poem is so thoughtfully crafted that you want to constantly go back to re-experience the beauty of each line. At the same time, you want to keep reading forward to experience the beauty of a new line. There is something so magical about Topaz Winters's writing style–it reminds me of Terrance Hayes' lyrical writing that is insistently raw. My personal favorite was "That Summer I Wrote the Same Poem Over & Over" but, honestly, every one was special. What a great collection of poetry.
May 11, 2022
"So, stranger, what invented you as emptiness?"
With poetry, it can be a hit or miss situations. Sometimes, the verses don't get to you at all, don't let any emotions surface. But this poetry collection by Topaz Winters isn't one of those.
What Winters creates here are some of the purest and raw lines I have read in a long time. It's full of emotion, both good and bad, of the relationship between family and 'the daughter', of history and prejudice.
The poems are all individual, the setup different each time and yet quite fitting, no matter if you get a huge, ongoing text or a poem with deliberate spaces in between. This controls the flow of reading, sometimes even changes the whole meaning by just adding additional space.
All in all, this is a wonderful poetry collection and I am grateful that I was allowed to read this one.
With poetry, it can be a hit or miss situations. Sometimes, the verses don't get to you at all, don't let any emotions surface. But this poetry collection by Topaz Winters isn't one of those.
What Winters creates here are some of the purest and raw lines I have read in a long time. It's full of emotion, both good and bad, of the relationship between family and 'the daughter', of history and prejudice.
The poems are all individual, the setup different each time and yet quite fitting, no matter if you get a huge, ongoing text or a poem with deliberate spaces in between. This controls the flow of reading, sometimes even changes the whole meaning by just adding additional space.
All in all, this is a wonderful poetry collection and I am grateful that I was allowed to read this one.
May 16, 2022
i need to reread this, to be honest
this is my favorite type of poetry - the perfect mix of metaphor and imagery, but it's very grounded in what that imagery portrays. i definitely see the richard siken and jenny holzer influence.
thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing my review copy
this is my favorite type of poetry - the perfect mix of metaphor and imagery, but it's very grounded in what that imagery portrays. i definitely see the richard siken and jenny holzer influence.
thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing my review copy
April 9, 2022
~So, Stranger~ by Topaz Winters, pub date May 17, 2022
5/5 stars
Poetry, Memoir, Multicultural
"Make no mistake: this is not a story about fullness, it is a story about starvation. / We are so hungry we are bloody. So hungry we are frantic. So hungry / we may never eat again"
The thing I love most about poetry is how it is pretty to look at yet dangerously powerful to read and understand. Topaz Winters takes the purest and darkest human emotions and pours it raw onto the page, She writes from the perspective of "the daughter"; a third generation immigrant's journey of self discovery, resentment, forgiveness, her relationship with their parents, and their bittersweet connection to the generations before her.
"my rage is the spitting image of my father's, but unlike him / I have no right to it."
The poems speak for the immigrant experience, especially the third generation. However, their words will resonate with anybody suspended in that strange and confusing place between timelines and cultures- anyone who feels displaced in their own life. It's about being born into the world wearing the skin of your ancestors who have suffered before you, but feeling like you don't deserve the rage and strife that comes with it. After all, you're doing much better than they ever could, aren't you?
"America says I am disappointed in you & I say join the damn club"
It's always easy to feel unheard and insignificant when you don't check all the boxes of the "perfect American citizen". Topaz Winters write about the life of a woman, a person of color, and someone on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum- all perspectives that are seriously lacking in all genres of literature and therefore cherished by people who identify in the same way.
"Dimples. Seizures. Daytime. / What we inherit. What / we owe."
Structurally, the poems are broken into six subsections, or arcs poetica. I loved how the individual poems switched styles, from 2 line stanzas to large chunks of text to paragraphs with deliberate spaces between phrases. All the poems are brief, 1 1/2 page max, which makes for a quick read and easy rereads of particular sections. I read it in almost one sitting, and I hope to purchase a physical copy when it is released!
Thank you to NetGalley and Button Publishers for the chance to read and review this story :)
#SoStranger #NetGalley
5/5 stars
Poetry, Memoir, Multicultural
"Make no mistake: this is not a story about fullness, it is a story about starvation. / We are so hungry we are bloody. So hungry we are frantic. So hungry / we may never eat again"
The thing I love most about poetry is how it is pretty to look at yet dangerously powerful to read and understand. Topaz Winters takes the purest and darkest human emotions and pours it raw onto the page, She writes from the perspective of "the daughter"; a third generation immigrant's journey of self discovery, resentment, forgiveness, her relationship with their parents, and their bittersweet connection to the generations before her.
"my rage is the spitting image of my father's, but unlike him / I have no right to it."
The poems speak for the immigrant experience, especially the third generation. However, their words will resonate with anybody suspended in that strange and confusing place between timelines and cultures- anyone who feels displaced in their own life. It's about being born into the world wearing the skin of your ancestors who have suffered before you, but feeling like you don't deserve the rage and strife that comes with it. After all, you're doing much better than they ever could, aren't you?
"America says I am disappointed in you & I say join the damn club"
It's always easy to feel unheard and insignificant when you don't check all the boxes of the "perfect American citizen". Topaz Winters write about the life of a woman, a person of color, and someone on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum- all perspectives that are seriously lacking in all genres of literature and therefore cherished by people who identify in the same way.
"Dimples. Seizures. Daytime. / What we inherit. What / we owe."
Structurally, the poems are broken into six subsections, or arcs poetica. I loved how the individual poems switched styles, from 2 line stanzas to large chunks of text to paragraphs with deliberate spaces between phrases. All the poems are brief, 1 1/2 page max, which makes for a quick read and easy rereads of particular sections. I read it in almost one sitting, and I hope to purchase a physical copy when it is released!
Thank you to NetGalley and Button Publishers for the chance to read and review this story :)
#SoStranger #NetGalley
March 23, 2022
"in this world i am never so lonely that
i laugh just to have something
to wrap my hands around
in this world i am no longer a list of
unasked questions & the answer to each
is no longer the word blasphemy in
this world when the parts of me that
are not made of water beg for mercy
i spare them"
Thank you NetGalley and Button Poetry for the chance to read and review the ARC for So, Stranger by Topaz Winters.
I wasn't expecting much from this collection; the cover is not to my taste and in a store would put me off. But here I am, pretty surprised that this turned out to be a phenomenal collection on loss (for lack of a better word) and family. Topaz Winters is a great writer and puts her best foot forward with the first piece 'Departure Time.' My other favorites were 'Ars Poetica Il: Season Finale of the American Dream' and 'In your absence', which hit closer to home than I would like to admit.
I'll be checking out more by this poet soon!
i laugh just to have something
to wrap my hands around
in this world i am no longer a list of
unasked questions & the answer to each
is no longer the word blasphemy in
this world when the parts of me that
are not made of water beg for mercy
i spare them"
Thank you NetGalley and Button Poetry for the chance to read and review the ARC for So, Stranger by Topaz Winters.
I wasn't expecting much from this collection; the cover is not to my taste and in a store would put me off. But here I am, pretty surprised that this turned out to be a phenomenal collection on loss (for lack of a better word) and family. Topaz Winters is a great writer and puts her best foot forward with the first piece 'Departure Time.' My other favorites were 'Ars Poetica Il: Season Finale of the American Dream' and 'In your absence', which hit closer to home than I would like to admit.
I'll be checking out more by this poet soon!
Read
May 30, 2022This was a collection about returning — to your lineage, your self, your home. It investigates what lineage leads to, who we are independent of it, & where we go when we need to be held. Topaz Winters knows language intimately & it is always such a gift to read their work!
November 17, 2022
As always, Topaz Winters truly blows me away with her words.
April 28, 2022
So, Stranger
by Topaz Winters
Pub Date 17 May 2022
Button Poetry, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles
Biographies & Memoirs | Multicultural Interest | Poetry
I am reviewing a copy of So, Stranger through Button Publishers, Independent Book Publishers Association and Netgalley:
So, Stranger is Topaz Winters third collection of poetry, it spans three countries and three generations. It is a far-reaching & deftly-woven series of ars poeticas, Winters questions the boundary between the things we inherit & those we owe, stands at the grave of the American dream, & unspools the enormous grace & guilt of being loved.
Topaz Winters So, Stranger stands a mark between the shifting histories & futures of being a daughter, being an artist, & being an immigrant. The reader begins as a stranger but by the end of the book, feels like a friend.
I give So, Stranger five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
April 21, 2022
I can’t describe how much I loved this poetry collection.
Every inch of this collection is a story: some I understood and some I didn’t. I loved not understanding, though, because that means there’s more to learn and discover. I don’t want every story to be familiar.
It was so good that I want to buy the physical copy so I can go back and annotate. Some of my favorite quotes have been born here in this book.
SO MUCH LOVE.
Every inch of this collection is a story: some I understood and some I didn’t. I loved not understanding, though, because that means there’s more to learn and discover. I don’t want every story to be familiar.
It was so good that I want to buy the physical copy so I can go back and annotate. Some of my favorite quotes have been born here in this book.
SO MUCH LOVE.
June 16, 2022
loved this collection surrounding topics on being a first generation daughter, queerness, parents, language, and more. topaz winters is an amazing writer and poet. you will be forced to read fervently and diligently as you conversate with the hunger of her words. wonderful poetry book and 10/10 recommend for poetry lovers and haters alike.
June 13, 2022
This collection of poetry explores the notions of identity, family and what it is growing up as a woman. The poet’s style is punchy and vocal. The words read as if they are lifted off the page and they take on a life of their own.
My favourite poem is « On the First Day of Planting, My Grandmother Becomes Her Garden », though it was really tough to chose just one.
My favourite poem is « On the First Day of Planting, My Grandmother Becomes Her Garden », though it was really tough to chose just one.
April 9, 2022
i read this two weeks ago and it’s taken me that long to process my thoughts. these poems were so beautifully written and i felt like i connected with the vast majority of them, and though i haven’t experienced those exact… experiences, Winters appeared to the feeling behind these experiences most of us can relate to. all in all, this was a beautiful read and i can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy (thank you to netgalley for the copy i read)
April 7, 2022
I don't know if I can put in words how beautiful this book is. I feel like nothing I say will do it justice. It's way more important than just a book I will rate and then put on the shelf. These were honestly some of the greatest verses I've ever read and it's not even about the beauty of the expression, but the beauty of the emotions the author wasn't afraid to show. To display those emotions so beautifully is not just talent, but an unbelievable strength.
June 8, 2022
Poetry like this collection makes me glad that poetry is still around, for people like me to be captured in.
I devoured this, line after line. I’m not familiar with any of Topaz Winters’ work before this, but this made me regret it. How could I not know of any previous works?
I have read a fair amount of poetry, it’s one genre I consistently gravitate towards and Topaz makes me glad I do,
I devoured this, line after line. I’m not familiar with any of Topaz Winters’ work before this, but this made me regret it. How could I not know of any previous works?
I have read a fair amount of poetry, it’s one genre I consistently gravitate towards and Topaz makes me glad I do,
March 29, 2022
I really enjoyed reading this collection of poetry. Each poem felt very personal and were emotional. One of my favorite poems on the collection is called “On the First Day of Planting, My Grandmother Becomes Her Garden”.
*Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.*
*Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.*
March 23, 2022
The narrative and prose poetries in this collection are beautiful, telling rich, lovely stories. Each story is framed and told differently, but they weave together to create something beautiful, raw, and open. This is one of those poetry books that you read and immediately have to find the rest of the author's work. I received a copy through Netgalley.
June 21, 2022
I received this as an Ebook ARC in exchange for a review through NetGalley. So, Stranger was published on May 17, 2022!
I flew through this book! And adored almost all of it! The writing style and importance of this work is beautiful and I found myself having to reread some of the poems several times because they felt as if they just hit in the best way. But there were a few things I had issues with, the first one being how short the collection was. There were moments where I felt like more ideas could have been spoken of along with how a few of the poems were formatted in a. way that I personally thought didn't make sense.
But overall this was a great collection of pieces that makes you really think which I enjoyed!
I flew through this book! And adored almost all of it! The writing style and importance of this work is beautiful and I found myself having to reread some of the poems several times because they felt as if they just hit in the best way. But there were a few things I had issues with, the first one being how short the collection was. There were moments where I felt like more ideas could have been spoken of along with how a few of the poems were formatted in a. way that I personally thought didn't make sense.
But overall this was a great collection of pieces that makes you really think which I enjoyed!
September 30, 2022
watching topaz winters perform her poetry live with such passion and purpose had put me in a trance - one that i am still very much under. talking to her was just as spellbinding.
May 29, 2022
Completely aware of my bias as someone who's been lucky enough to call Topaz a dear friend for ~5-6 years, but my god this collection is breathtaking. It reminds me of the song "Tarifa" by Sharon Van Etten, which I've heard described as a song that you could either fall in love to or part ways to, and it's just as beautiful and moving either way. These poems are like that, too. I'll return to SO, STRANGER every time I fall in love with someone (or something) new, and I'll return to it when my heart is breaking. This book is a time traveler and a confidant.
August 25, 2022
This was a pleasant surprise of a collection. Short but sweet, the collection takes you along the themes of identity, family, and womanhood as well mask their intersections. Lyrical and intuitive, this collections holds you captive with each piece being a standalone in its own right. Some poems, I would not say I like das much as others but holistically it is a good collection. Thank you NetGalley and Button Poetry for the eArc. Now, I just need to go order this in hard copy so I can read it again.
June 8, 2022
biting wit and beautiful words.
each poem is its own world, its own experience- yet they all weave in and out of each other, they all seem to connect. quite a few lines that left me staring at the wall and whispering them back to myself. a wonderful exploration of identity, being a daughter, lineage, departure/arrival, & home.
thank you button poetry for the arc and opportunity to read this beautiful collection of poetry
each poem is its own world, its own experience- yet they all weave in and out of each other, they all seem to connect. quite a few lines that left me staring at the wall and whispering them back to myself. a wonderful exploration of identity, being a daughter, lineage, departure/arrival, & home.
thank you button poetry for the arc and opportunity to read this beautiful collection of poetry
August 10, 2022
Thank you so much Netgalley and the author for the e-copy in exchange of honest opinion!
What a mesmerizing cover! Honestly speaking, there are parts that I didn't understand but as a whole, the book is a brilliant masterpiece. I could relate to the struggles of being born to immigrant parents, the feeling of not belonging, having a difficult father and so on. The poems are very deep and capture Topaz's emotions, experiences extremely well! Highly recommended.
What a mesmerizing cover! Honestly speaking, there are parts that I didn't understand but as a whole, the book is a brilliant masterpiece. I could relate to the struggles of being born to immigrant parents, the feeling of not belonging, having a difficult father and so on. The poems are very deep and capture Topaz's emotions, experiences extremely well! Highly recommended.
March 19, 2022
I really enjoy this poetry collection. It has adequate depth and eloquence that able to capture reader up to the end. I have a few favourite from this poetry, and absolutely loving the poems with father as the main theme.
And I love the organisation of the titles, I don't know how to explain it — but it just makes sense.
And I love the organisation of the titles, I don't know how to explain it — but it just makes sense.
June 11, 2022
This is was a Goodreads giveaway win and here is my honest review!
I like poems were I can both see myself and how I see the world in the text, while also meeting someone new and their own perspectives on life. These poems gave me it all.
My favourite poem was Seventeen.
There is a lot of power in these poems and I am grateful for getting to read them.
I like poems were I can both see myself and how I see the world in the text, while also meeting someone new and their own perspectives on life. These poems gave me it all.
My favourite poem was Seventeen.
There is a lot of power in these poems and I am grateful for getting to read them.
March 27, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley, Topaz Winters and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
A beautifully written collection of poetry, which is deeply personal and emotional. I adored each and every poem and will definitely read it again.
A beautifully written collection of poetry, which is deeply personal and emotional. I adored each and every poem and will definitely read it again.
August 10, 2022
ARC- ‘So, stranger’ takes the reader on a path of self discovery and recovery. The poet is simple and clear and creates an accessible narrative of the twists and turns of third generation immigrant life. A highly suggestible collection for new poetry lovers.
June 4, 2025
beautifully written with a lot of depth to each poem. i really enjoyed the themes of queerness, immigration and difficult family relationships presented in this book. it's bittersweet, moving and emotional. loved reading this!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews