But I think I prefer the voice in my head. There appears to be more humor than I would have expected, although perhaps the audience is just aware of rawness, and the laughs are uncomfortable, or supportive I don’t know.

It’s very interesting, listening to the emotion and speed of his words, as I imagine them in a much deeper, slower cadence. Here’s a performance of his interesting, insightful and painful self-poem, ‘My Honest Poem’: … It turns out Francisco gained fame as a spoken word poet. Skin II was one of the poems in the section on race that I found profound in imagery and parallels, perhaps a way for the unaware to understand the burden of racial representation. These are probably the ones that most benefit from performance. There are poems in the first section that feel a little too arch, a little too self-conscious, but not often. His style reminds me a bit of Adrienne Rich no particular rhyme or metre, with enough unused space to let you know each word is quite chosen. IV is perhaps about survival and hope, and II is about relationships, but you know how poetry is. Section III was particularly good, with thoughts on race, gender and identity, deserving several reads. Divided into four sections, each roughly corresponds to a different theme. The cover of Rudy Francisco’s first book of poems attracts immediate attention, but it is the poems that will slide into your thoughts and demand your attention. Read July 2018 Recommended for poetry fans ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Helium poetry book