Freedom House

by KB Brookins

Freedom House is a poetry collection that explores internal, interpersonal, and systemic freedom.

In this debut full-length collection, KB Brookins’ formally diverse, music-influenced poetry explores transness, politics of the body, gentrification, sexual violence, climate change, masculinity, and afrofuturism while chronicling their transition and walking readers through different “rooms”. The speaker isn’t afraid to call themselves out while also bending time, displaying the terror of being Black/queer/trans in Texas, and more — all while using humor and craft.

What does freedom look like? What can we learn from nature and our past? How do you reintroduce yourself in a world that refuses queerness? How can we use poetry as a tool in the toolbox that helps build freedom? This collection explores those questions, and manifests a world where Black, queer, and trans people get to live.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT, Queer, Nonfiction, Memoir, Race, Adult

102 pages, Paperback

First published April 11, 2023

Reviews

[Lauren Oertel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Unapologetic. Fire. This book will leave burn marks on your fingers and heart, and it will be so worth it. This debut full-length collection by KB is everything I hoped for and more. I took their Freedom House workshop about a year ago, and I am thrilled to see how it takes shape in this form.

These poems are exactly what the world needs right now, especially in places like Austin, Texas, which is also my home. I’m grateful for KB’s courage and talent with sharing these experiences, images, and fantastic combinations of words to uplift and call out what’s going on. I appreciate the scathing honesty about our shared city and state, and how white people still have a long way to go (including myself). These poems will push readers to reevaluate themselves and their communities, and also inspire us to take part in the role of building a Freedom House, working toward true liberation. Pre-order this book, read this book, share this book, and support this author so we can continue to have access to powerful art like this.

[Sanpaku · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/10.
'Twas a tough read.
Imagine a poetry collection written by a Black, queer, trans person. This is what this is.
And, don't get me wrong, the talent is there, the issue is the obsessive Twitter-tier victimhood mentality that permeates it all.

[Caitlin Conlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid collection of poems that played with form and pop culture in really interesting ways. I’d recommend this collection to anyone, but especially to people of color and queer folks!!

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this and LOVED the resume poem! The line ‘pronouns: whatever gets me the job’ was a whole M O O D

[Ags · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really appreciated the ideas, and enjoyed seeing multiple "characters" pop up in different poems throughout the collection. I especially enjoyed the poem in the format of a CV, and poems where there were unexpected rhymes. At least on audio, many poems sounded/felt more like essays - I appreciated the content, but didn't enjoy the form as much.

Bummer that the descriptions/shout-outs of therapy activities always sounded like bad therapy.

Listened to this on audio while driving, read by the poet: Good narration, but the audiobook doesn't give the titles of the parts, which feels like a huge oversight. I don't think I'm recommend the audio for this collection.

[Simplymegy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I had enjoyed this more- but I guess this book had a target audience and that wasn’t me. I felt angst, anger, and grief through her words, although at times it seemed like word salad rather than poetry.

2.5 ⭐️

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am new to reading poetry but I really liked this.

[Whitney Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a library check out that I NEED to have as a part of my collection so that I can read once a month.

[Bookish Emotions · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were few parts which I like but there was a lot which I didn't understand or was not able to relate too. I think it doesn’t mean the book is bad it just mean it just not for me.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this over a month ago and I am still thinking about some of the poems. I really loved it and feel sure I’ll have to revisit it sometime soon.

[Sophia Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

-More realistic rating: 4.2 stars

-This collection touched on topics dear to me so I loved hearing Brookins’ view.

-List of poems in this collection that stood out to me (favorites are starred):
——
-EVERY BUILDING IN EAST AUSTIN IS A GHOST
-& SOMEHOW, MEN ARE NICER TO ME NOW
-SEXTING AT THE GYNECOLOGIST
-IT’S 6 AM & THE SUN IS OUT
-KB GOES HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
-BARE MINIMUM, OR TO DO LIST FOR WHITE AMERICA 🌟
-GREEDY GHAZAL
-CURRICULUM VITAE 🌟
-I’M NOT WRITING ANYTHING ELSE WHERE WHITE PEOPLE ARE THE ASSUMED AUDIENCE
-T SHOT #2 🌟
-I TAKE MY THERAPIST’S SUGGESTION AND CORRECT WORRYING TO CARING
-T SHOT #6 🌟
-GOOD GRIEF (after Texas Winter Storm Uri) 🌟
-AFTER BINGING MAY I DESTROY YOU IN 3 DAYS
-FLEETING THOUGHTS ON A DEADNAME THAT’S NOT QUITE DEAD 🌟
-SIN CITY (after Carrie Fountain) 🌟
-T SHOT #7 🌟
-ARS POETICA FOR GRANNY 🌟
-POETS ARE BETTER AT EMPATHY/MORALITY/BEING A FRIEND THAN ANYONE ELSE 🌟
-POEM AGAINST “BLACK____MAGIC” (after Hanif Abdurraqib)
-T SHOT #5: ODE TO MY SHARPS CONTAINER 🌟
-ALMOST- DUPLEX 🌟
-ANOTHER RELATIVE SAYS KB DON’T CALL & DON’T WRITE, AGAIN 🌟
-DEATH BY RETINA, OR ____ GOES FOR A SWIM 🌟
-ON THE DAY OF THE TRIAL BLACK AMERICA LOST, AGAIN 🌟
- AFTER THE 30TH PLAY OF MONTERO (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME)
-I CAN RIDE MY BIKE WITH NO HANDLEBARS 🌟
-HE/THEY IN THE STREETS, THEY/THEM IN THE SHEETS 🌟
-TALES OF TACOBELLA, OR I LIVE ON BLACK ROCKSTARS 🌟
-FINALLY, A SLOW WEEKEND (after Jericho Brown) 🌟
-TRAVELING TO A NEW STAR (after Lucille Clifton) 🌟
-CORONOSOMNIA 🌟
-T SHOT #8 🌟
-A LIST OF THINGS I WANT BEFORE THIS LIFE LETS ME GO 🌟🌟🌟
-FREEDOM HOUSE MANIFESTO 🌟
-MANIFESTMANIFESTMANIFEST 🌟

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection organized by sections mirroring rooms in a house. The collection explores life in the world as a Black, trans man whose family, police, and the public at large doesn’t see the humanity of.

There were a lot of poems I didn’t “get,” but that’s often my experience reading poetry. However, there were plenty that I did enjoy. My favorite lines and poems include:

“the U.S. is the worst group project” (“Good Grief,” 59).

“I’m Not Writing Anything Else Where white People Are the Assumed Audience” (39)
“I Admit It” (46)
“I Take My Therapist’s Suggestion & Correct Worrying to Caring” (51)
“T Shot #7” (66)
“A Journal Commissions Me to Write Piece 2,022 about The Slap” (76-77)
“What Still Lives” (78)
“After the 30th Play of Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” (84)
“A List of Things I Want Before This Life Lets Me Go” (94)

[Connie]

Unfolding in four parts titled after areas of a house, these stunning poems of Brookins transport readers to 2029, to the gynecologist, and to the moon. Delving into desire, gender identity, loss, and violence, this book absorbed my attention. In Florida, I carried it to the beach. The blue of the cover and the blue undulating before me mesmerized me. In utter awe, I read “I take my therapist’s suggestion & correct worrying to caring” to my partner and nearby umbrellas. Additional dog-eared pieces I keep flipping back to: “It’s 6 am & the Sun Is Out,” “Good Grief,” and “Finally, a Slow Weekend.”

from “Recent Poetry Releases to Add to Your Collections in Anticipation of The Sealey Challenge” via BOOK RIOT: https://bookriot.com/new-poetry-2023/

[Ricky Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fierce, funny and intensely moving collection of poems examining everything from racism to gender identity is everything I love about poetry. It is formally adventurous and uses a four-part structure to sort the poems into different rooms of the Freedom House. KB has an indelible and distinct point of view with a biting sense of humor. The writing is incisive and intelligent in its criticisms of the dumpster fire we live in. However, some of my favorite moments of the book were those that turned inward to expose a visceral view of KB's self-discovery that resonated with me deeply. This is a potent and powerful collection that deserves to be in conversation with the likes of Danez Smith and Morgan Parker. I loved it.

[Sarah Koppelkam]

(I’ve stopped awarding star ratings to poetry because 1) I don’t feel I’m knowledgeable enough to assess the work and 2) it’s hard enough to be a poet)

This is the kind of collection that I’m glad exists for those it exists for and will mean a lot to. I think I’ve come to have a hard time staying interested in super auto-biographical, identity based poetry collections. Often, they become repetitive and could use editing down, as this one did. That said, I really loved the opening poem “Black Life Circa 2029” and I found the controlling structural device of the Freedom House to be compelling, even if it didn’t fully come together for me. KB was at their best when playing with rhyming, which made for some sonically interesting moments.

[Tutankhamun18 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed these poems alot, some I could connect with more than others. The poems in a more prose like format were my least favourite compared to those in a lyrical format. The author was able to combine to turn big topics of racial trauma/desire for racial justice/rejection by certain people for being transgender into mundane (yet brilliant) details that can be used in their poems alongside harsh truths. This gave many of their poems their brilliance.

My favourite poems were: The Pickup Comes At 6am, T Shot #4, We Are Owed This and Curriculum Vitae.

I want to read more from this author, because of my blanket enjoyment of these.

[Mayson Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of poetry was incredibly breathtaking. The meaning behind each and every one of these poems for the queer community were absolutely amazing and profound. I’ve had this book for about six months but this was my first time fully reading it all the way through like it was meant to be and I’m so glad I took the time to give it the attention and analysis it truly needed. As a queer poet as well, Freedom House spoke to me in so many ways. I recommend this for anyone honestly, I think this could really broaden everyone’s perspective through KB’s poetic lens.

[readwithricha2]

I usually don’t read poems, and I often find them hard to understand that’s why I’m not giving any star rating here.
However, I did feel the struggle, grief, and frustration in many parts of this book. You can sense the numbness someone might feel while writing about such harsh truths.

There were several moments where I didn’t agree with the poet’s perspective, but I understand it comes from a place of insecurity and hopelessness so I won’t comment on that.

If you want to give poetry a try, this could be worth reading once.

[laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

picked up this book on a whim so was super surprised to realize how recently the book was published (esp with commentary on Palestine sprinkled in). fully not qualified to comment on poetry but I felt like the poet's voice was a lil green still. there were some lines and poems that were rlly good tho! there aren't many young black queer trans writers out there so I appreciated a new perspective and the intersectionality of the issues KB fights for ^_^ ✊✊

[Michelle Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry is hit or miss for me. Most of the poems in this book were not for me. This author has a voice and something to say and the three stars is for the poems that spoke to me, that taught me another’s perspective, that made me feel something and I would want to read again and again. This author has lived a life I cannot begin to imagine. As a reader there was a lot of anger and angst, but this author wrote their truth and has a lot to say and I can respect that.

[Keagan Wheat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving through grief and hope, Freedom House challenges and galvanizes in different ways. Brookins incorporates humor and food throughout this collection. This book does amazingly inventive things with form and reference to other artists. If you like heartfelt poetry or formally stunning poetry or community-driven poetry, you should definitely get this book.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

"When I care myself to tears; that's when I feel my most human. I think, which is a treasure. Caring means that I can feel, which is a curse. What do we do when caring is a danger to yourself and others? What do we say when caring nips our tongue & turns sentence into shut it all down."

Loved this book!!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freedom House is a collection I thought I’d race through, but thankfully, it made me slow down and savor and reimagine. It made me think about transformation, self-definition and how to think about the possibilities of the future. In fact the title poem, “Freedom House Manifesto,” does just that; the poem lists visions / criteria for a future living that enables liberation. KB Brookins gives so much in Freedom House, showing not only the power of their reflective point of view, but experimenting with form, space and structure in a way that feels as fresh as a cold plunge in summer.

[D.J. Desmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

It will grow on you for sure. I love all the creative ideas, the literal fade out, the humor peppered in. A lot of it worked for me, some didn't. It's worth a read for fans of poetry or people with empathy issues

[Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry is fire; it sets me aflame and singes me to the bone! Not to mix my metaphors but if this book is a house and each section is a room you move through, I would gladly take the house tour over and over again. Alright, I’m ready to sign on the dotted line—when can I move in?

[Citri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Curriculum Vitae was my favorite part. I'm not sure the best way to describe the humor but it's one I enjoy.

As a current Texas resident, the Freedom House Manifesto is spot on. Fuck ERCOT, it really does not get dragged enough!

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es como una conversación honesta sobre lo que significa ser libre. Combina momentos duros con imágenes de esperanza, y aunque algunos poemas me costaron, me gustó cómo me hizo cuestionar cosas que daba por sentadas.
Absolutamente devastador amigas, que falta hace una lectura así de vez en cuando 🥲

[Jessica Hambrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful poetry that touches on race, politics, culture, and what it means to be black in America.

[Liv Harlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful, apology-free collection that effortlessly intersects topics of being Black in America, queerness, and the complex humanity and identity.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

got from bk book fest first 3/4 very slay 5/5 rest were like 4/5 so overall maybe 4.5-4.75/5. really moving work on being black/trans, love, texas, etc