Feast

by Ina Cariño

Winner of a 2022 Whiting Award in Poetry
Winner of the 2021 Alice James Award

At times located in the Philippines, at others in the United States, the speaker of these poems is curious about how home can be an alchemy from one to the other. Feast explores the intricacies of intergenerational nourishment beyond trauma, as well as the bonds and community formed when those in diaspora feed each other, both literally and metaphorically.

The language in these poems is full of musicality—another way in which abundance manifests in the book. Feast feeds its readers by employing lush sonics and imagery unafraid of being Filipino and of being Asian American.

Feast offers abundance and nourishment through language, and reaches toward a place an immigrant might call home. The poems in this collection—many of which revolve around food and its cultural significance—examine the brown body's relationship with nourishment. Poems delve into what it means to be brown in a white world, and how that encourages (or restricts) growth.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT, Asian American

100 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 2023

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this debut poetry collection, imagery of food and the body builds an evocative picture of childhood in the Philippines and, later life in the USA. Sepia is the hue of memory; salt preserves trauma, but honey sweetens the outlook. The vocabulary is visual and tangible. A banquet for the senses that recalls Cynthia Miller and Nina Mingya Powles.

See my full review at Shelf Awareness.

[Ebony Purks · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I still wonder how a grain too small for a wish holds the task of feeding in its shell”

I don’t normally read poetry so I don’t know how to appreciate it like someone who does but I really enjoyed this! I work at a bookstore so now if anyone asks me for poetry recommendations, I can recommend this one 💗

[Ella]

Ina is one of the most magical people I know, their poetry is no different. I was so lucky to be taught by them in an entry level creative writing course my sophomore year at NC State- my perspective on writing (and reading) was forever changed. (And I sold them my green velvet couch 🤭) thank you for everything Ina

[Iz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crying in H Mart found dead in a ditch and I'm about to sob in Seafood City

The word plays and metaphors around food, eating, culture, trauma, mental health, (be)longing, left me continually in awe. Though I am a bit squeamish when it comes to blood and organs, I couldn't stop reading. As a Filipino American who doesn't speak any language from the Philippines, I often found myself even more in those stereotypical/overdone "diasporic blues" feelings of wanting to connect more with these poems, but I am so glad the author did not translate any of it. Ima need my other Filipino/a/x mutuals to read this and talk about it with me because phewwwww I can barely process this myself.

My favorite poems (in order of appearance in the book):

I SING DESPITE THE TENDER STENCH OUTSIDE

"a child. / what is an anthem / but a love song / turned inside out, / in crisis. / in dreams."

LEAN ECONOMY

"real love is when you loot a crate of lard-filled cans / throw it into the Pacific to feed your ancestors"

MY CHILDHOOD IS A COUNTRY OF THIEVES --

"to be a thief is to unstick the plastic glow-in-the-dark stars from the ceiling. / to be a poet is to write about the hollows that take their place. / to be a child is to love what's left"

YESTERDAY'S TRAUMAS, TODAY'S SALT

"grandmother makes the sign of the cross. / archipelago is just another word for slaughtered, amen"

IT FEELS GOOD TO COOK RICE

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book that I got to experience in person and also a collection I often revisit.
Ina Cariño is a dear friend and an even dearer poet. There are few words I can write to truly articulate how much I love this collection. Being a Filipino person in the south, being gender-nonconforming, being rooted in Filipino culture, there are plenty of reasons for me to find solace in their words.

When reading I experience what feels like vivid imaginations of my own experiences and that’s why I pick up this book often

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

First and foremost, be prepared to feel hungry as you read each poem, because Cariño delivered some of the most mouth-watering descriptions of Filipino food throughout their collection. Cariño created an exceptionally sensorial experience for the reader, perhaps to the point that it might be a bit too vivid at times (I’m thinking particularly of instances when they write about eating meat that might not sit well for some readers), but I found it effective.

What I particularly enjoyed about this collection was how food was at the center to explore the culture, language, and history of the Philippines. Cariño seamlessly weaved Tagalog into their poems to reveal a particular intimacy of their relationship with their motherland and Filipino identity. I don’t understand Tagalog, so I know I missed quite a lot of details throughout this collection, but I still found myself utterly entranced by Cariño’s words. On that note, I think these poems will especially resonate with Filipino readers, considering the incredible love that the poet expressed in their writing.

[Toheed Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visceral and unique, interwoven with aspects of gender, sexuality, pain, family, culture, and colonialism, all with metaphors and imagery of Filipino foods. I was recommended this book after reading and enjoying Loves You by Sarah Gambito, one of my favorite poetry books, and I was not disappointed at all. One of the last books I read in 2025 but managed to sneak into my favorite reads of the year regardless. I am so eager to read more poems by Cariño when they publish Reverse Requiem next year. They are one of those poets whose work you have to read a few times over and every time it hits you in a different way.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through Cariño's clarion, superlative verse, the mysteries encapsulated in nepantla—the corporeality of life between borders—are made clearer. Each poem offers ingredients for safeguarding childhood memories against the mental, physical, and spiritual violence of colonialism. In this way, Cariño's poems reclaim native land, language, and body. May we all long to hold on to those we have lost and the permutations of self we discover through grief, remembrance, acceptance—poetry.

[Jill]

I don’t ever feel equipped to rate poetry, but this collection blew my hair back. Cariño’s words are raw, their phrases pull no punches, the reader can taste both the milk sweet rice and iron tang of blood described on the page. Playful with typesetting, it was delight to reread several of these poems and try to puzzle out how best the words fell together.

[Not Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry.

[Jessica]

“…I braid garlands / of a history I convince myself is real / thread them jealous through my lover’s hair.” —from poem “What does death feel like coming from a woman?”

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bounty of queer, Filipnx poems that will leave you picking your skin and licking your lips.

[Salma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this so much. A lovely detailing of culture and life, I loved the poems and the topics that were touched upon. I'm not an expert on poetry but i thought the poems were really good.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend. Highly highly highly recommend

[Robyn]

Notables 2023 #162

[Sondra Yu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visceral, sensual, and raw; i loved the connection between food and Filipino culture even if I couldn’t understand much of the Tagalog- I didn’t need to to feel the emotion through each poem

[Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a journey! I felt. Truly felt. I saw, tasted, missed, mourned— did it all with this slice of writing.

[julie | eggmama]

Favorites:

- When they gleam, when they clatter
- My childhood is a country of thieves
- It feels good to cook rice

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One morning, I listened to “Everything is Exactly the Same as it Was the Day Before” and extra-knew I needed to read Cariño’s extraordinary debut as soon as possible. Organized into three parts, this collection teems with cinematic and unforgettable imagery, like “an apology of fading stars” and “pricked with glint-glass” from “Watch Animals Closely for Strange Behavior.” In awe of “Infinitives,” I wonder over its form and sound — “amid the gum-soft jostle” and “yearned for syncopations” and “fill fissures with birdsong” — across and down the chart. May you reach for this exploration of food, grandmother-love, language, and superstition soon.

from “Reflecting on Winter’s Poetry” via BOOK RIOT: https://bookriot.com/winter-poetry-20...