Some of the poems were really inspirational and hard-hitting and I wanted more of that. I found the rest of the collection enthralling. What was really frustrating was how there were sections that had clear themes (like the second one focused on Francisco’s relationship with a woman), but then others would jump all over the place.

I didn’t mind the poems, oh no, it’s just that I didn’t get what Francisco was getting at. The sections had no defined theme, and I found some of them to vary around, or even repeat themes that were already discussed. So, with the organization, the book was separated into chunks, parts, and there were four of them. I actually ended up using a stanza as my senior quote this year, which I wasn’t even expecting. Otherwise, I found the poems to be thought provoking and meaningful, and my e-copy of the book is very heavily highlighted. And, when I really thought about it, my main problem was the organization. I had such conflicting thoughts on it, that I forced myself to sit back, and to ask myself what I had problems with it. Normally, when I review book, I have a rating in mind the moment I set it down. I would like to thank the people at Button Poetry for allowing me to have a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I thought the cover was interesting, so I decided to give it a shot! Why this book?: In all honesty, it was read now on NetGalley, and I was looking to get into poetry. Poems that focus on the personal and the political, on race, gender, self-reflection, and culture critique. Rudy Francisco is an internet sensation, with Helium being a culmination of his works.

Rudy francisco books