by Kaveh Akbar
First published 2017
Kaveh Akbar's debut collection plunges readers into the relentless churn of alcoholism. Visceral, unflinching poems confront the torment of craving, the loss of control, the never-ending battle to stay sober. "Sometimes you just have to leave whatever's real to you, you have to clomp through fields and kick the caps off all the toadstools." Akbar's raw, confessional voice reckons with his own struggles, questioning the nature of the self and its fragile boundaries. The emotional core burns with uncompromising honesty as Akbar navigates the hard-won path of recovery.
Genres: addiction, contemporary, poetry, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, raw
Tropes: confessional, raw
100 pages · Paperback · Alice James Books
Content warnings: addiction, alcohol-abuse, depression, substance-abuse