This mystical debut poetry collection takes an earthy and spiritual approach to the issues of interconnectivity, trust, and consciousness. An energy worker and soundbath practitioner, Izetta sets the tone with an elaborate dedication declaring that “we are all just finding our way back Home,” and poems such as “Cosmic Love” and “Planet Earth” seek to evoke and describe that elusive place of spiritual belongingness. In the introduction, she frequently uses the word “journey” to describe the book’s structure, and the sense of continual and heady bewilderment is part of its appeal. As readers discover just over halfway through the collection, “What I saw/ were illusions/ and now/ I’m lifting the veil.”

Izetta is a declamatory poety, and her poems don’t so much preserve specific moments or images as advocate for positions. The beginning poems assert that “we want freedom,” order readers to “Open your eyes,” and—in line with the theme of journeys—state that “ we come from a place/ incomprehensible.” Such bold pronouncements are appealing for their naked confidence, but they lack specificity and imagery. When the poems do narrow their focus from the cosmic, such as in “Sadness Fairies of Love,” they are more memorable and idiosyncratic.

Izetta’s range of inquiry and aspiration will appeal to readers seeking poems that mine the fantastical from everyday life. Inherent mysticism is illuminated in “Shower Thoughts,” a poem focused on allowing one’s thoughts to be free to “whisper secrets to our conscious minds.” Izetta cultivates an open and meditative atmosphere of “infinite possibilities/ of experiences” that accumulate during the course of the journey, and any readers willing to follow Izetta to her destination will be rewarded with a new and liberated feeling.

Takeaway: This collection of free-spirited and psychonautic poems will appeal to readers with an interest in connectivity, spiritual journeys, and questioning reality.

Great for fans of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems, Alice Notley’s For the Ride, CAConrad’s ECODEVIANCE: (Soma)tics for the Future Wilderness.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: –
Editing: A+
Marketing copy: A