Thanks to Button Poetry for the DRC!!
I'm so glad I requested this book, because now I know so many new words I never heard before.
Love all the poems!

By far one of my favorite poets of all time. He has a voice that speaks to my soul. I was so sad that this book had to end. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

I found this to be such a well put together collection. It was so creative to use words of his own making to get across the depths of his poems, many of which struck a chord with me and had me thinking for a while after reading them. I can’t wait to see how Rudy’s poetry will continue to grow!

In I’ll Fly Away, Rudy Francisco builds. He builds a new vocabulary of words that don’t exist yet—words that do not yet exist but express the feelings/attitudes/actions that drive his world. Francisco builds room for joy and wonder while recognizing the pain all around him. Building poetry from lyrics, he uses the found poem form to reveal simple, but affecting truths about relationships, friendships and love. He builds a looking glass into a future: from humorous meditations on our celebrity worship to serious commentary on police brutality and climate change.

There’s a lot happening in this collection, which I think works to its benefit. There’s something for everyone to learn and be moved by.

I said it with Helium and I'll say it again with Rudy's new book, I love his work. I've followed him for so long and LOVED his spoken word pieces. When I saw this on NetGalley, I freaked out.

Unsurprisingly, this was wonderful. I always think poetry is mostly subjective because we will all connect with it differently, but I do think Rudy Francisco is someone that everyone can enjoy. His writing has something for everyone, but more importantly, makes you feel that connection between his words and your own personal experiences. I also really loved the inclusion of words that don't exist in the English language but should. Honestly, if you're going to read any poetry this year... I highly recommend Rudy's work.

3.5/5

My memory is pretty bad; so i requested the book because i was sure i already read Helium, his previous book. Turns out, that wasn’t true at all. I haven’t read it, ha. Buuut, I can say for sure, it will be one of my next reads.

I’ll Fly Away is truly a well written poetry book. Some poems were #relatable and III was the most difficult part, the last one shows what family means for the author and for a lot of people. Besides, it talks about such important topics as racism, police brutality, gun violence, depression, etc.

Drowing Fish probably is my favorite poem (the poem where I lie about everything, something I’m the mess, it is the year 2036, When they say he is black, Uwani, And the morning shows up, were also pretty good).



But also about resilience and happiness in the small things:

I want the kind of happiness
that you can smell in my clothes,
and a smile so big, you can still
see it when I’m walking
in the opposite direction.

I want to laugh so loud,
my demons pack their belongings
and decide to move.

So these days, I try to take
the most mundane things,
like waking up or doing laundry,
and challenge myself
to carve a small celebration
into every single one.



So, this is such a beautiful book. I highly recommend it.

📖 I’ll Fly Away 📖 Rudy Francisco 📖 5 ⭐️ 📖 ⁣
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I was never really worried about a sophomore slump for Francisco’s second collection because I follow him on social media and really just have all the faith in his abilities. I was drawn to his work after hearing “My Honest Poem” (Please seek this out!) it spoke to me on many levels and his first collection, 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘶𝘮 did not disappoint. ⁣
⁣
He writes in a way that really elicits a reaction from his audience—a smile, a laugh a tear. He takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary. He reminds us of the fragility of life, yet begs us not to forget the joy in life, too. I’m not going to pick favorites here, but I definitely do have a few standouts from the collection. I also loved his erasure poems and the words the don’t exist, but should play on form he does throughout the collection.⁣
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Equal parts humorous and meditative, joyful and perceptive, this collection is able to send you up like the beautiful cover art, up, up, up, and able to touch the sky and see things from a new perspective. ⁣
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Thank you @netgalley and @ButtonPoetry, and most of all thank you @RudyFrancisco for saying what I wish I could say with far more mastery and grace than I ever could. My heart is purple, too. ⁣
⁣
📖 #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksta #books #bookish #readwithme #booksofinsta #booksofig #instabooks #bookclub #poetry #buttonpoetry #RudyFrancisco #IllFlyAway #poems #honestreview #booksonbooksonbooks #bookshelf #bookchallenge #bookworm #booknerd #guysreadtoo 📖

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

It took me a while to think about how to write this review.

This collection of poetry, 'I'll Fly Away' is one of the most powerful collections I've ever read. It is simply stunning and the fact that Rudy Francisco created new words for this book is intriguing.

With every made-up word, he delves in and explores further in depth the meaning of the word through a poem.

I found this to be quite relatable at certain points, as well as inspiring too.

This is the second book I've read by Rudy Francisco - the first one is Helium, which I also enjoyed reading.

Before reading the book bare in mind these trigger warnings: Depression and mentions of gun violence.

This is the first collection of poems by Rudi Francisco that I have read. His writing is thought-provoking, honest and intriguing.

In this novel, Francisco creates words that don't exist in the English language. Words that mean 'giving yourself advice' or 'to take a perfect picture'. This shows so much creativity and I loved reading about these made up words.

My favorite part of the collection is part 3 and the poem Climate change.

"This smile is the first gift my//mother gave me." --It usually happens, I'll Fly Away by Rudy Francisco

Poetry requires vulnerability, a willingness to give the intimate pieces of life we can all connect to on a deeply personal level. Rudy Francisco has turned that vulnerability into an art form. This collection of poetry covers topics from climate change to racial relations in the US to what it means to be a parent, and every poem features a gorgeous depiction of pain or hope--or both, beautifully intertwined. Francisco offers so much of himself that it is impossible to finish without feeling like you've gained a new friend in this world.

In "Drowning fish," Francisco discusses the reality of mental health in an accessible, beautiful, but painfully raw way. As soon as I read it, I immediately knew that everyone should read this poem at least once in their life, but probably more. "My parents" transported me back to my childhood and convinced me--finally--that someone else understands what it feels like to grow up in a household made of thousands of miles.

Francisco uses a premise of "words that do not exist, but should" to preface his poems, a tactic that I found more effective in certain moments than others. He also uses erasure poems, which I personally am not a fan of. However, the rest of the work was so artfully crafted that these elements did not detract too significantly. Each section was well-defined and topically harmonious, making it easy to flow through them.

Overall, this was a gorgeous collection that left me with so much to think about and consider. I think that's the hallmark of good poetry: the kind that steals your breath but gives you an ocean of new thoughts and perspectives. Rudy Francisco lived up to every expectation--no matter how high--with his second poetry collection, and I fully and enthusiastically recommend this book!

As I loved Francisco’s first book ‘Helium’, I was very excited to read this new book of him. I must say, I loved this one even more than helium.
The poems were so current for our times now. Topics such as Black Lives Matter and mass shootings are being mentioned.
This was a very interesting poetry book that will make you think a lot about everything!

This book was a stunning breath of fresh air in a smog filled literary world. Francisco has no qualms about telling the hard truths, but they are written in such a way you almost want to beg him to tell you more. A beautiful second book from this author, it screams "Yeah things have sucked. Some days are bad. But mostly things are good, even if we have to keep fighting." Absolutely loved this.

Thank you NetGalley and Button Poetry for sending me the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this poetry collection way more than "Helium". Let's put everything into perspective first, two years ago when I was starting to read poetry, I found "Helium" and decided to give it a shot since I had heard good things about it. I didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping, but I really liked Rudy's prose and decided it keep reading his works. Best decision ever. He rocks!

Man, I really enjoyed this book. Rudy made such an amazing work!! I cannot wait for this book to get out and purchase it.

In "I'll fly away" the author talks about depression, racism, police brutality, family, between some other topics. He also includes some well-known songs and new words that are not in the english dictionary ♥️ I was a little bit worried at the beginning, because I wasn't connecting with the author. But after a few pages in, I couldn't stop reading!

Highly recommended!!

Where do I even start with this!?!?

Once again, Francisco uses his perfectly chiseled words to rip out hearts, inspire hope, and demand change. Helium was beautiful but I'll Fly Away is his grown up manifesto to the world.

Buy. This. Book. Immediately. I promise there is no way you will be disappointed.

I hadn’t heard of Rudy Francisco before, what about you? I was first attracted by this really pretty cover and by the title. I took my time to savour this book and I do not regret it. What I like about poems is that they make you think, they make you feel, dream and reading one poem a day is very easy to do. The poems discuss many themes such as race and discrimination, personal development, death, love and hate, etc. I felt like most of them were quite relatable and true. It is kind of like an admission of the truth, nothing new but things that should be said and acknowledged. I liked how the author made poems by erasing words from some song lyrics. It was original. Moreover, Rudy Francisco challenges the concept of language and its adequacy to talk about our experiences by suggesting words that could/should be added to the dictionary and, after reading their definition, it’s true that some could be useful. For example, "Felenter (Noun) Definition: Someone who finds joy in things that people believe to be mundane." The verbs were more difficult to imagine in a sentence but I like the concept. After finishing this collection of poems, I went on YouTube to listen to this poet and I enjoyed it a lot. I recommend both reading this book and listening to his poems.
4/5

Thank you Netgalley for this amazing book. First of all I really like the poetry style of Rudy Francisco and I really loved this book. The writing style is amazing and the the book has something for everyone. The poetries are so deep and they beautifully portray so many matters and issues that we sometimes face in life (like racism, ptsd, heart break) and on the brighter side it is so heart warming and contains beautiful poetries about love, beginning of a new day and it really overwhelms me with hope and joy. One thing I loved about the book is that it has some verbs and definitions written before some poetries which kind of gives you the clue about the core of the poem. it’s a very quick read. Overall i highly recommend it and it is amazing.

"How beautiful is it to grind yourself into sand, offer the grain of you to anyone willing to listen, hoping they will carry your debris to places you will never go."

Rudy Francisco once again has written a collection of poetry that speaks to the hardest parts of life. He writes of love and fear, racism and heartbreak. I'll Fly Away is formatted by Francisco introducing lists of words that do not have a place in the English language and basing his poems after the words, all of which invoke strong feeling. His poems are full of humanity and pull on your heartstrings.

My personal favorites were "My Parents" and "Drowning Fish" , both of which I connected personally with.

Francisco also includes black out poetry in this collection, which is an interesting medium and enjoyable if you know the original works.

Overall, this collection was fantastic and filled with emotion, which is Rudy Francisco's specialty. If you are looking for something to tug at your heart and make you think, I would highly recommend I'll Fly Away .

Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I enjoyed Rudy Francisco's previous collection, Helium, so I was excited to read this one as well. I was immediately drawn to the definitions format Francisco used to try and create new words to more fully communicate his experiences. The first poem in the collection did such a wonderful job of capturing what it feels like to have difficulty finding the right words, especially when facing a language barrier, with someone you care about. Francisco beautifully and poignantly addressed a range of topics, including racial injustice and human connection, as well as emotions from joy to despair and many in between. I look forward to reading more of Francisco's work in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book of poems was a nice, light read, while still taking on difficult subjects such as racism, divorce, and mental health.

I really enjoyed how every few pages had a word, followed by the description. It was a nice touch and really made the collection of poetry more unique than others.

The synopsis of I’ll Fly Away had me with the description “creates his own words”. As a linguistics graduate, I just had to read this poetry collection. The opening poem Mama Saba asks introduces the linguistic trope that plays a role in many of Rudy Francisco’s poems. I can’t help thinking though that this poem does not resonate as well with foreign-language speakers. Or with young kids, as they come up with new words all the time.

The new words in the first part of I’ll Fly Away have to do with death, growing up, and uncertainty. While I agree it would be nice if there were words to describe what he is talking about, the ones he came up with could be confusing for those looking for Latin and Greek roots. After a while, when the newness fades away, this whole new word invention theme gets a bit tedious and I stopped paying attention to the words.

Many of the poems are short stories that could be summaries of books. There is much more to them than meets the eye. The poems in the first half of the book resonate well with me as a reader. They’re about mundane situations and feelings, with a straightforward message or opinion that makes you look better at the world around you.

The longer poems are great as grand slam poems and the shorter ones as memes or flip-thinking. To me, they are not surprising or novel, but instead, they lead to recognition or an admission of truth, because yes, this is how the world works and how people feel sometimes.

I enjoy watching Rudy Francisco’s live performances on YouTube very much and I can almost hear his voice reciting the poems while I read them.

I took some time to consider what I was going to say about this poetry collection and decided to divide my review into two parts. The thing is: I liked the first half of the book (except for the erasure poems) and disliked the second half. The sole reason for that is the theme of the poems.

The second half is simply too political for my taste; I read for leisure yet felt like I was reading the news. I don’t quite understand why these poems are in the same book as the earlier poems and the ‘new words’ seem to be added as an afterthought.

I’m not saying that the issues that are addressed are not serious, but rather that I didn’t expect such poems after reading the synopsis. The poems in this part of the book deal with very relevant topics like violence, discrimination, and the treatment of black people. Rudy Francisco is very outspoken about these matters. You might be the right audience for him – many reviewers seem to appreciate these poems the most – but I was not. At least not that day.

Still, there are many things in this world that I would like to fix and Rudy Francisco did draw my attention to them again.