Soul Trash, Space Garbage

by Michelle Awad

Written during a time of significant upheaval, Soul Trash, Space Garbage is a poetry collection for all of the messy things inside ourselves that we don't feel are worth committing to paper, or talking about, or confronting. The trash of our souls, the cosmic garbage of our beings. Its sections traverse three types of star death-from the death of relatively small to especially massive stars-exploring the beautiful, the tragic, and the bittersweet that comes with each of them as a metaphor for life, love, change, growth, sorrow, depression, destruction, joy, faith, and humanity. Most of all, it is a collection about hope. Soul Trash, Space Garbage gives us permission to see ourselves as celestial beings, as something magnificent and otherworldly, something that can neither be created nor destroyed-as something unapologetically infinite and imperfectly divine.

Genres: Poetry

126 pages, Paperback

Published December 17, 2021

Reviews

[Aspen · Rating 5 out of 5]

From someone who has never felt any passion for poetry, I don't know that I will ever encounter a more beautiful collection of poems in my life. This book took me over a year to get through because I forced myself to slow down and only read one poem or less per day so that I had to sit and truly digest them instead of just zipping through. And I'm so glad I did. These poems capture so much that I've never been able to put into words: the things that haunt me, the things that irritate me, the things that make me truly happy deep in my core, and even navigating the first real love of a lifetime. I would recommend this book to anyone at all, poetry fans or not. I found it to be a truly moving masterpiece.

[Elliana Jenness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh. 💞 Words have never been more delicious. I’m obsessed. I’m in shock, I’m shook. I am stunned, this is stunning. I don’t even know what to say other than WHAT?!?! This is BEAUTIFULLLL!!! 7/5 stars. Easily. Michelle Awad can I come live in your brain?

[Raquel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful collection of poetry made me want to believe in love again.

[Kristiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soul Trash, Space Garbage is Michelle Awad's long awaited debut collection and encapsulates her style, wit and ability to traverse love and hurt with ease, perfectly. Inspired by the universe and scientific articles, Awad's collection delves into who we are and how we are continuously defined and redefined by our experiences of love, lust, and loss. The collection showcases a style the poetry community has come to adore - the listing pieces which begin surveying the wide expanse of humanity and steadily narrowing into the personal. Each time, Awad finds the images to convey and reflect this human experience, of finding yourself in everything and nothing. In being reminded constantly of who you are and what you were with the pressure of what you will become.

[Kayjah · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know when you pick up a book, you start reading the first few pages, and you think to yourself “man this is going to be good”?

That was the FIRST poem of this book for me. I have been reading Michelle’s work often on social media and she continues to blow me away every single time, but this? This is a whole other creature in itself.

Grief, regret, love, wanting, and so many other emotions are wrapped up into this beautifully written book, and I encourage anyone and everyone to read. Also, the art?! Absolutely loved the symmetry between the words and the artwork. So well done!

[Sera · Rating 4 out of 5]

starts out very strong - loved every single poem in part one. part two fell a little flat for me and part three just felt more literal than the first. but i think i just am not a huge fan of love poems.

either way, have had this sitting on my shelf unread for a very long time. didn’t expect it to be as captivating as it was. very rare that you find a knock out book of poetry on instagram. but this one is really, really good.

[Caitlin Conlon]

In “Soul Trash, Space Garbage,” Michelle writes beautifully about love, finding yourself, & the real (& imagined) spectacular events of the universe. This book was a warm embrace that made me want to kiss every person I’ve ever loved. Plus, the book design is utterly gorgeous.

[Prudence Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE FURTHEST THING FROM GARBAGE! This book makes me want to love, to be loved, to devour another person with passion. This book feels like a call to action, like a holy text. It makes me want to be a better lover and a more zealous woman. The art work peppered throughout is simple yet unique and adds to the aesthetic without distracting from the message of the text. The imagery Michelle thinks up is so distinctive and special to her style and I am enamored by the way she plays with vocabulary. All in all, Soul Trash Space Garbage is a magnificent read that hooked me immediately. I would absolutely recommend this book for yourself or anyone you know, particularly a smart, sensitive woman.

[Mark Folse · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely delightful book about the struggle of coming of age and finding love. Followers of @theconstantpoet on Instagram won't be disappointed but will hopefully be surprised by the emotional depth of many of these poems. Award has a fluent talent with language and a desire to explore all the dimensions of life in clever and insightful verse.