ALL THE FLOWERS KNEELING

Poet Paul Tran's emotional, operatic narration of their debut poetry collection takes a moment to get used to, but once one does, it's nearly impossible to stop listening. Their voice rises and falls with the cadence of their words; at times the book seems like a musical performance. The poems are intimate and immediate, exploring the legacies of war and U.S. imperialism, queerness and langauge, famous works of Western art, and, most painfully and poignantly, sexual violence and its traumatic aftermath. Tran's narration, like the poems themselves, is haunting and vulnerable. Their voice radiates loss, pride, determination, exhaustion, love. The extensive notes section provides important historical and artistic context. Inventive and unflinching, this vivid debut is a beautiful declaration of survival. L.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2022]