A beautiful gut-punch of a book. The author navigates through childhood memoir and Black Queer identity, while grieving for her murdered brother. Her pain is palpable but her prose is deft and precise. I would definitely read more by this author.

Absolutely adore this collection. Moving works of art touching on grief, racism, and homophobia. Beautifully written and really well-done!

I want to start by saying I'm reviewing this as a queer, light-skinned woman - I highly recommend checking out #ownvoices reviews of Butcher before you decide to skip or pick up this collection.

Natasha T. Miller's poetry collection Butcher hits you in the gut as she explores addiction, death and grief, along with her identity as a queer Black woman. Some of her poems feel unfinished, but this reads as intentional, and a painful commentary on the abruptness of death, and the effect tragedy and loss can have on those left behind. The poem "I see you" is particularly powerful in Miller's acknowledgement of the strength and perseverance of Black women.

"Let this poem be serve as an acknowledgement of your royalty"

Butcher is a beautiful collection, and my only complaint is that it was over too soon. I had not read or seen any of Miller's words prior to picking this up, and I will definitely keeping an eye out for future work!

Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Since it been a while that I read a poetry collection, this was a really good (and I mean sad) one. Here we follow the author's road to 'healing' and 'understanding of her own pain'
A someone who has been dealt a bundle of loss before, a line really stood out to me in this book. 'I want to feel how I feel, even when it's not happiness'- Toni Morrison. The author reflecting on this quote made me do the same. Allow yourself to be sad, angry, disgusted even vengeful but the most important at least to me and from my understanding the author is accepting. Accepting that you have lost something or someone important but there are still a lot more things you can care for and love.
Natasha talks about transgender death and lack of acceptance. "black girls who look like black men wearing a quiet death" This for me translates in different ways, transgender has become an identity rather than a step that allows one to become who they want to really be or who they really are. Sometimes they are not allowed to, afraid to even because they fear the eyes and knives of the world. The other, they become who they really are and they are not accepted because they are 'different or rather unique and strong'

She highlights what people sound like when they say 'all lives matter', honestly she is just hilarious but she poignantly lists out the stupidity of people who make these remarks.

I will end this review with two quotes that I pulled from her poems "Grief is more contagious than joy" so well said. "I know that death is an alarm clock without a snooze button"

I didn’t love this book. It was too obviously angry. I believe that poetry need to make us feel something, make us think about the meaning of the poet. But here all I felt is the author is screaming at me and I didn’t like it at all. Yes she can be angry and write from the anger, but I believe I need to feel the anger from the meaning of the poem and not from the yelling of the words.

This was an insightful poetry collection, particularly the poems about grief, but ultimately it fell a little flat for me, and I'm not sure why. A lot of the poems were very simplistic and anti-climactic; I quite often found myself waiting for a catharsis that didn't come. I think they'd probably be very powerful as performance pieces, but don't necessarily work as well on the page. Some of them felt a little unfinished, which in a few cases worked, particularly in the poems about death, where the lack of a resolution fit thematically, but at other times it just left me wanting.

These are varied poems, dealing with grief, anger, queerness and family, and I thought that it worked well as a sort of poetic autobiography. It's deeply personal and raw at times, and that's when I think Miller is at her best. Miller is obviously a very talented poet and I'd definitely be interested in looking up some of her performances on YouTube, but this was a collection that didn't quite work for me, which I think is possibly just an issue of medium.

Butcher is a book about love & loss — about being unapologetic and transparent in grief. Natasha finds unexpected solace in the kitchen after losing her best friend and brother, Marcus. Here, using the cuts of the cow as a metaphor Miller explores addiction, family & tragedy.

This is my first poetry book to review and I was thoroughly impressed. As a nurse who has worked in emergency care, palliative care, and now intensive care, the poems resonated well with me. It is a wonderful book, that shows great sorrow in grief and would be helpful to anyone currently experiencing grief. The cover is very colorful, bright and eyecatching.

*I got this ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

"& the answer is
there are no tender blue boys
there are blue boys filled with sadness the size
of their backpacks filled with rifles for tender
blue girls who tenderly tell them no."

This is a very powerful and blunt poetry collection that touches on grief, death, racism, queerness and other relevant issues of our time. I unfortunately did not necessarily enjoy the writing style of most of the poems, although I could appreciate the message. I sometimes find it hard to rate poetry collections when my only issue was the writing style because that's definitely a personal preference and not the author's fault. This was just OK for me but I'd still recommend!

This collection of poems by Natasha T. Miller is beautiful. It covers the intersections of being black and LGBT and a woman, and also of the tragic loss of her brother, who was murdered. I found the first few poems to be a little tricky to get into, but I quickly warmed to the book as it went on. Some of the poems were touching, others raw, and Natasha's style is very real and visceral. I picked up this book & read the whole thing in one go & I will definitely read again.

“Grief is more contagious than joy”
- Natasha T. Miller, “I Learned of Grief Too Late”

This book entirely broke my heart. I love the way that Miller writes not only about her complicated relationships with her parents and her brother, but also with the world. She explores grief in a way that seems so entirely relatable, yet so specific to her own tragedy. As someone who also has a complicated relationship with someone who has died, I think Miller was able to capture the intricacies of grief and how you can be upset with someone for how they lived or what they did, but still feel their loss and remember their love.

I also very much enjoyed the section “Tongue and Cheek”, where Miller discusses the struggles of being not only a black person, but also a queer one. She details with heartbreaking accuracy the ways in which black gays must arm themselves every day in order to just survive. As a queer person, reading Miller’s pleas for recognition for black queer women was utterly tragic.

“Please, leave a record of our deaths / hang us on trees / near street lights / give us names / just talk about us / the black girls who look / like black men wearing a quiet death / a sheep easy to slaughter”
- Natasha T. Miller, “The Other Black Man”

This book of poems was truly so moving, and a must read for those looking for more insight on family, grief, and identity. This copy was lended to me as an ARC through NetGalley!

First of all this is such a difficult poetry book to review and star as it is so deeply vulnerable and personal. This poetry collection has a difficult array of themes ranging from addiction, loss, death, grief, racism and homophobia in black communities. Miller covers the fears and alienation the lgbtq+ feel and contemplate in these black communities. The drastic differences in daily life when it comes down to fear is terrifying to read but so powerful in this poetry collection.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishes for giving me this ARC. This is my honest review.

How do I feel about Butcher? I don't usually read a lot of poetry, but this book made me feel like I should read it more.

I really enjoyed it. Butcher had a lot of beautiful, powerful, and heartbreaking things to say. It was a quick read, which was great for me. She wrote about a lot of topics that were clearly close to her heart. It was about family, friendship, grief, being queer, being black, and being a woman. And I liked all of it, it was phenomenal.

I don't really have much else to say other than I would definitely recommend reading it.

I personally would not adopt this for my class as I teach a lower grade level. I also believe that this title shares details that I do not think a school should be responsible with sharing, it should be something that is shared to the students at home by their families. I did like the book and the emotion the author put into all of the poems and the story and meaning behind it, however it is not something I would use as an educator.

Disclaimer - I received a free digital download of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I could tell from the first page that this ‘poetry’ book would be different from the contemporary verse I usually read. The poetry contained centres around addiction, loss, death, racism and homophobia (especially in black communities). The poetry contained are a very interesting read and I’d say a lot is very eye opening. I’d never considered some of the topics raised and I’m grateful to have been given the chance to read this book. There is a lot of emotion and suffering contained in this book, such that could be helpful to those struggling with the loss of loved ones and those wanting to better understand homosexual persecution in black communities.

I especially enjoyed reading ‘The answer is kindness’, I liked the back and forth nature of it and the fact that it’s highly versatile to others situations. My only real complaint is based around the formatting of the copy I was sent to review as this affects the ability of the poetry to flow. But all in all I’d definitely recommend this book.

Butcher is a raw and emotional read. Miller speaks freely and vivaciously about the life of her alcoholic mother, her brother who was murdered, and the way she navigates through life around these situations. The poems boast loud and vibrant imagery and radical empowerment. Her poem to Raven Symone was one of my favorites. It was incredibly honest and biting.

I hoped for a longer read, this is definitely on the short side for a poetry collection.

Definitely a book you want in your #ownvoices collection in any bookshelf/bookstore/library.

It is really hard to review such a personal book. I'll just say it is absolutely stunning. It was sometimes rough, raw, it didn't try to preserve the reader, and to me the style was almost "dry", perfectly communicating the pain of the author. It was a hymn to sorority, to black feminism, and it is definitely necessary during those times we are living. All of the words will remain engrave in my reader's memory, but even in my heart. One of those books who can change minds.

The author natasha Miller is able to show true pain in her poems. They cut deep overall good poetry book would really recommend

Butcher is a beautiful and vulnerable collection of poems about grief, family, queerness, and Blackness. Natasha T. Miller's voice is wonderfully fresh, and her poems offer a relatable yet unique perspective. I really enjoyed this collection and look forward to reading more of Miller's work.

Unflinchingly honest, achingly human, and blazingly emotional, Butcher is a powerful detonator of a poetry collection. Miller does not back down from the violence of today's society and manages to weave words that capture the ugliness and inevitability of loss and grief whilst subtly maintaining that understanding is a lifeline in grappling with our vulnerabilities and the agonies of our reality. Absolutely worth devouring!

I received an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

Where do I begin? How do I start describing the emotions and thoughts this crushingly powerful collection left me feeling? Could I even say anything without having this big lump in my throat?

This collection of poems perfectly matches its title. It is a butcher; it is a raw feeling; it is anger; it is sorrow; it is grief. It is all the injustice in the world. It is standing tall against racism, inequity, inequality, homophobia, and pain.

The literary artwork is divided into five chapters: The Rib, Tongue & Cheek, The Round, The Tenderloin, and The Brisket. Each one of them carries different emotions, different pains and struggles. However, all of them are intertwined, allowing them to course through the body. All the pain, hurting, and grief are translated into these words that echo for a long time.

Two fires

We are always two fires burning
down our own home
But not today.

Today I choose
to be water, today I choose us over
the ashes.

To existing being enough

On days like today you're just existing,
and that's fine.

The ocean is not always a tsunami.
The wind is not always a tornado.

You are no less powerful
in all your stillness.

Grief

It's like opening the fridge
every few minutes hoping
that there will be food.

Except the fridge is your
heart, and the food is a
person you'll never see again.

How I wish this collection is longer... Nevertheless, its length does not cut short on the message it sends to the world.

P. S. I think this book deserves to have its cover on Goodreads. It truly represents the meaning of its words. To the book cover designer - you've done an excellent job!