Allergies: Poems on Grieving and Loving

by Maggie Bowyer

Allergies plunges readers into a world where immense grief leads to mistakes, learning, and above all else, figuring out what love truly is.



The first chapter of Allergies, "Winter," deals with the loss of family, friends, and lovers; the second chapter - titled "Spring" - is about love after loss and reflects on the definition of love. The third chapter, "Summer," grapples with the mistakes we make amid grief - the moments we seek the warmth of others to soothe us and the people we hurt while we are hurting. In the last chapter, the loss has finally settled like leaves on the lawn in autumn; this chapter reflects on loss and how we can open our hearts to love after loss. More than anything, this chapter reminds us that love is compassionate, sensual, respectful, and above all else, honest.

Genres: Poetry

186 pages, Paperback

Published February 7, 2023

About the author

Maggie Bowyer (they/them/theirs) is a poet, cat parent, and the author of various poetry collections including Allergies (2023) and When I Bleed (2021). They are an essayist focusing on Endometriosis, chronic pain, and trauma. They have been featured in The Abbey Review, Chapter House Journal, The Elevation Review, The South Dakota Review, Wishbone Words, and more. They were the Editor-in-Chief of The Lariat Newspaper, a quarter-finalist in Brave New Voices 2016, and a Marilyn Miller Poet Laureate. You can find their work on Instagram and TikTok @maggie.writes.

Reviews

[Franzi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't really connect with this one — much of the poems didn't read like poems, more like unedited note app ramblings. I wish it had been split into different books, too. I really felt the poems about endometriosis & the child abuse but jumbled together, it all became a bit of a mess.

[jeannette ⋆ ੈ✩‧₊˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

incredibly heartfelt. i could not stop reading.

i am grateful to the author for hosting a giveaway in storygraph, which allowed me to read this beautiful collection.

i definitely would recommend this collection of poems to anyone who feels lost, is grieving, or wants to love themselves again.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite poets and poems are my favourite because they inspire a visceral emotional reaction from me. This collection certainly did that, time and time again! I think I would enjoy picking up another Maggie Bowyer poetry collection in future.

[sobia · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars (rounded up)

I received this a copy through a giveaway on The StoryGraph.

yeah, I can't get past the structure of this book. felt too much like song lyrics and completely destroyed any sense of flow or direction. the themes were okay, but i was so disorientated throughout the book.

can we please retire this poetry style lol

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

《Giveaway》
2.25 ☆☆

Honestly, I think I'm just not much a fan of the 'unedited notes app ramblings' style of poetry; which isn't to say it's a bad style or that they're bad pieces, just simply not for me.
Despite that, there really are some gems in here and some that resonate very strongly.

[☁️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

i received a copy of this book through the storygraph giveaway

poetry really is one of the hardest types of art to recommend, how you connect with words is so subjective... i found it hard to resonate with the way the poems are presented, even when i related to their content

[Alina]

If I wrote poetry I think this is what it would be

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bowyer was one of the hand full of poets that got me into poetry with her, When I bleed collection.

Her poems, in this our some of the longest I have read (I haven't read many poems)

The beginning starts with her speaking about her allergies. " a large part of me wonders if I was always destined to repel. The very things which are best for me". I never thought about the weight of living with allergies so deeply and how it affects every part of your life.

The collection, is split into each season starting with winter as that is when she was born. Which I think was very cleverly done. She speaks about heartbreak which is the grieving element

I read this book from a monthly subscription on kobo but I could easily buy this collection and annotate it and dive into it much deeper

[Amanda Leslie · Rating 1 out of 5]

*1.25