I love this book for all the different themes and voices. I’ve been following Central Avenue Publishing for a while, and I love that all of the authors are very human. You won’t find any cookie cutter writing styles, and this book allows authors to show their unique style.

I normally highlight some favorite quotes in my book reviews, but there are so many excellent poems in this book it’s hard to decide. I highly recommend, there is really a poem for everyone in this book.

In general, I think the poetry anthology was quite enjoyable, although I do wish there were less free verse poems and more lyric and meter poems, as most of the poems were free verse. One thing I did quite enjoy was the information about each author at the bottoms of the end pages of the poems. This is so helpful in deciphering the meanings behinds poems and also exploring other works of the authors.

I'm impressed and in love with this book.
the poems chosen, the themes approached, the clean design, everything was so thought of and beautifully put.
I absolutely saved some of my favorite to look up and get to know better.

I enjoyed Central Avenue Poetry Prize 2024. The poets collected here are diverse and come from a range of backgrounds. There are also a lot of queer poets. Yeah, for us! I liked the fact the styles and subject matter of the poems were all different. There are some powerful pieces on offer here and I felt privileged to have experienced them.

The variety of poetry was wonderful and each piece felt incredibly significant and held so much weight. Thank you for sharing this collection of short poems with me! Having themes to bring together author’s from all different walks of life worked well.

If you have been wanting to get into poetry, this emotional collection is a great place to start!

With over 50 poems, The Central Avenue Poetry Prize 2024 explores a variety of topics from grief to creation to disability. The collection is split into four sections: Notes on Loving, Notes on Grieving, Notes on Creating, and Notes on Living.

This collection includes poets from around the world with a variety of life experiences. There are also a handful of more experimental poems.

As a whole, the meaning was very clear and easy to parse for most of the poems. There is also a wide variety of poets and styles. If you often don’t love poetry or find it too confusing, this might be a great collection for you to dip your toes into poetry. I enjoyed that the bios were included at the end of each poem. I will note that only a few included the pronouns next to the name (something I would have loved to see next to each name). Since this was an ARC, this might be changed by the final version.

My personal favorites included:
• “Preventive measures” by Alyssa Stein
• “Thunderstorm” by Lottie Summers
• “Ouroboros” by C.J. Colligan
• “I was told to pray and father would answer” by Alyssa Patil
• “If the Lebanese Civil War did not force my family to flee” by Maha Hashwi
• “Mary Pt. 2” by Alyssa Patil

Poetry, as with any writing, is deeply subjective. I found many of these poems in this collection to read like prolonged inspirational quotes, dancing around the emotions rather than ripping them raw. While I found the poems easy to read, some poems at times felt hollow and detached. While I enjoyed that the four sections gave the poetry collection a clear structure, the grouping led them to feel a bit repetitive at times. That being said, the sheer volume of poetry in this collection means that there were still plenty of poems that I deeply enjoyed, and as a whole, I would still recommend the collection.

They are planning to release another anthology next year and are accepting submissions until April 30th, 2024.

Content warnings: Death, cancer, grief, violence, child loss, emotional abuse, cancer, chronic illness, addiction, and xenophobia

Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for this copy for review.

I’m A well curated collection of poems from Central Avenue's first poetry prize.
The breadth of lived experiences represented by the poets made this such a lovely read.
I'm already looking forward to the
2025 Prize.

For me poetry is often hit or miss and there was a few poems in this collection that I really liked, but most of them wasn’t for me.
There’s a lot of different poems, so you can without a doubt find something in this collection you would like. However if you aren’t that into poetry, this definitely isn’t for you.

This might be the most diverse poetry collection I've ever read. There were poems about different topics, at different levels of complexity, so much variation -- and there were five dozen poems, so it would be hard NOT to find something you enjoy here. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

A collection of sixty poems, if I could count them properly—I loved all the poems in this anthology. Not a single poem I disliked. And I congratulate the people behind this work—all the poets and editors who took the decision to compile the best poems they received. Those who love poetry will find here a potpourri of poetic works published by many poets of varying backgrounds that have the potential to appease your ‘poetic polydipsia’. The selection is powerful and an amazing read. Some of the poems that I would like to mention are:

‘I can’t throw love out the window’ by JJ Celli. You can witness ‘Arab-and-Americanness’ in the Maha Hashwi’s poem. You will find so many poetic methods to express your grief in “Ways to Grieve” by Grant Davis. ‘Bit my tongue a little too hard’, is an emotional conversation with Ma, by Muskaan Singh.

“I may have inherited my father’s tinderbox temper, but from you, I learned my tongue between my teeth.”


Anna Kushner’s “to my child that could have been” was a motherly craft. In Abby Bland’s poem, you will hear the sounds of shells crumbling and eggs cracking. Jillian Calahan says, she had been having trouble writing lately, and then she decided to play with new words, and thus a poem was formed: “There is a word for that,” which is a nice novelty.

” And did you know there is a word

for a knife fight?

Its snickersnee

And callipygion is when one possesses

beautiful and shapely buttocks “

There are a couple of beautiful poems from Sakshi Patel. Samuel Faulk, in his disability-based poems, deals with the mentioned topic so well. You will find in one poem a cat making biscuits on stomach’, cats and dogs doing crossword over coffee. ‘Trespassin’ by Teichman was another poem that tinkled with its poetic tools.

I recommend this collection to all who love to inquire into a new poetic canvas in 2024. Thanking NetGalley and Publishers for providing me with an advanced copy, I say a big yes to this collection with the first Four lines of this anthology,

“Say yes to swimming and wild blackberries

to hundred of chickens grazing in the yard

to rolled down car windows and ukulele music

to the wind kissing your face.”



The thoughts, on this collection, are also posted on Goodreads and on following site:
https://bookbrooder.com/2024/03/02/central-avenue-poetry-prize-2024/

This was a great collection of poetry, loved the variety and the depth of the topics explored. Loved the opportunity to discover some poets I've not heard of, hope this poetry prize continues annually!

This book was so precious… Hearing all the different voices, their different thoughts, their unique poetry was everything to me.

I really enjoyed this poetry collection. The contributors had diverse backgrounds, and it definitely showed in the diversity of the poems throughout the collection. Although I enjoyed all the sections, my favorite section was “notes on grieving”. The poems captured the grieving experience so well. Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for this eARC.

i don't usually read poetry but here are some that really spoke to me:
- "my ribs are soft" by lauren levi
- "bats and birds" by sarah jane pyper
- "if the lebanese civil war did not force my family to flee" by maha haswi
- "preventative measures" by alyssa stein
- "you never softened" by jen holly
- "ouroboros" by c.j. colligan
- "treatment plan" by frances isler
- "autopsy of a poet" by lexi merring
- "open when you need me most" by rida aamina
- "my father's accent is enough" by harman kaur

and now for my favorite quotes:
- "they called you the devil - i wouldn't agree, if that was true, that meant the devil's in me." (from "you never softened")
- "you were never writing wills, but decrees of immortality." (from "treatment plan")

overall, i recommend if you're into poetry. it's a quick read. loved the concept & i enjoyed the diversity in this collection. can't wait for next year's.

3/5 stars.

I love a poetry collection, and this one was wonderful. There is such a great diverse variety of work within it from equally amazing poets. The different sections are incredibly effective, my favourite one being the poems surrounding grief. The concept of having a little bio at the end of each poem is such a good format to have.
I have compiled a little list of my favourite poems from the collection that stood out to me:
‘To my younger brothers’ Kelsey Bigelow, ‘December’ Amelia Faye Michels,
‘My ribs are soft’ Lauren Levi
‘Bombshell body’ Iva Markicevic
‘If the Lebanese civil war did not force my family to flee’ Maha Hashwi
‘Hero’s death’ Alicia Cook
‘You never softened’ Jen Holly
‘The keeper of lost time’ Harriet Selina
‘If I were a better poet, I would remember’ Abby Bland
Lunatic ‘Saakshi Patel’
‘Growing up with a disability is very confusing’ Samuel Faulk
‘Missed calls and heroin’ Alicia Cook

This book features an amazing collection of widely unknown poets. Giving us heaps of new poets to watch out for in the future.

The poetry itself is so varied that you’re guaranteed to find something you like. You’re sure to feel every emotion under the sun when reading this. My personal favorites were Ouroboros by C.J. Colligan, The Creation of language by Elison Alconvendaz and Lunatic by Saakshi Patel.

I highly recommend you give this poetry collection a shot, as you’re bound to find some you love.

Big thanks to Netgalley, Central Avenue Publishing and the editor Beau Adler for allowing me to read an E-Arc of this collection.

These poems are ones that I'll be coming back to again in future - there are some that I enjoyed more than others, of course, but all oozed talent and professionalism.

Summary:
Adler orchestrates a feast of poems, bringing together a variety of voices in an anthology that traverses the spectrum of human experience. From heartache to laughter, longing to life, this collection captures the meaning of living. Collaborative and cross-cultural, the anthology paints with words, reminding us that poetry is a reflection of life's many emotions and experiences.


Pros:
🌈 Five stars for curating a collection of emotions! This collection doesn't just paint in words; it throws a poetry party where each piece brings a unique dance to the stage.

😂 Power, humor, sorrow, beauty—Adler's ensemble captures the spectrum of human existence. From Parker Lee's musings to Alyssa Stein's "Preventative Measures," each poem is a gem, sparkling in its authenticity.

🌏 The diversity of content speaks to the complex nature of the human soul. This anthology becomes a passport to journey along the landscapes of heartache, longing, and laughter.

💖 Standout poems like "Grief, Or the Potential of Grief" by Gitika Sanjay and "Autopsy of a Poet" by Lexi Merring showcase the depth of talent. Abby Bland's "If I Were a Better Poet, I Would Remember" and Alicia Cook's "Missed Calls and Heroin" add layers to the rich collection.

Cons:
📚 The only downside? The book leaves you craving more, wishing for an encore. But isn't that the mark of a captivating performance?


In conclusion, the Central Avenue Poetry Prize 2024 is a feast for the soul, a symphony of words that lingers long after the final stanza. Kudos to Beau Adler and the talented poets for crafting a collection that speaks to the heart and ignites the imagination! 🎉📖

Disclaimer: Huge applause to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the eARC! Opinions expressed here are as diverse as the poetry within, and each reader will find a unique favorite. 🎭📖

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers Central Avenue Publishing.

Central Avenue Poetry Prize is a collection of poems was created after Publisher, Michelle Halket, pitched the idea to the Editor Beau Adler in the summer of 2022 which then resulted in a challenge of whittling down through over 150 collections they received to select shortlisted poems and of course the winners.
The quality of the poems in this collection is fantastic, and I'll be checking out several of the poets in this book and their work. So many poems were relatable, thought-provoking, eye-opening, and completely raw, and others like a balm for the soul. This is such a beautiful collection and very well collated. I hope this will become a yearly book as I'll definitely be buying it every year!
Some of my favourites from the collection were:
• Yes
• To My Younger Brothers
• My Ribs are Soft
• This isn't even my Final Form
• Bats and Birds
• I was told to pray and the father would answer.
• Hero's Death
• The Keeper of Lost Time
• Goblin Mode
• Still Here

The poems in this book were beautiful. Powerful and striking, it is obvious why they're prize winners. Additionally the editors did a great job organizing them so the book flowed well. There was a cohesiveness to the poems that made this book a very enjoyable read.