Kendra Allen’s The Collection Plate is an evocative poetry collection that explores themes of identity, Black womanhood, generational trauma, and the intersection of faith and culture. Allen’s writing is deeply personal, blending lyricism with raw emotion, and at its best, it feels like an intimate conversation—both tender and biting.

One of the strengths of the collection is Allen’s ability to weave together complex emotions with striking imagery. Her reflections on race, love, and family carry a sense of urgency and honesty that resonates. The poems often feel like snapshots of memory and experience, stitched together with a rhythm that is both fluid and unconventional.

However, the collection sometimes feels uneven. While some poems land with precision and power, others feel more abstract or meandering, making it difficult to maintain a strong emotional connection throughout. The experimental nature of the writing is both a strength and a challenge—it allows for moments of brilliance but also makes certain sections feel disjointed.

Overall, The Collection Plate is a thought-provoking read that shines in moments but may not be for everyone. Readers who appreciate poetry that is both introspective and stylistically bold will find much to admire, even if the collection as a whole doesn’t always maintain the same level of impact.

I am grateful for the opportunity to read The Collection Plate, a collection of poems by Kendra Allen. These poems explore the raw experience of living in the United States. For me, the most powerful poems were Naked & Afraid and Afraid & Naked. As consumers, we can watch a made-up show where people who choose and are paid to pretend to be struggling to survive in the wilderness, sickening themselves on unclean drinking water, when clean water is always nearby. The reality is that there are many communities in our countries for whom this experience is not a game, not a reality show, but daily reality for people who must boil their water before they can drink it, if there is enough water at all. There is ‘always enough clean water near by’ if we choose equity, but as a country we do not. Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for opening my eyes to this artist.

The Collection Plate is an interesting poetry collection that covers an array of topics and in a variety of different formats. I thought it was interesting the way the author structured each poem on the page; it made it feel more intentional and part of the larger narrative of this collection.

A couple poems that really resonated with me were ‘Naked & Afraid’ and ‘Afraid & Naked’. I thought it was smart the way the author paired these two separate poems in such a way to depict a broader picture and injustice around clean water.

My one critique is that there were a few poems that I had a hard time connecting to and following. I often found myself scratching my head, wondering what the author was intending to convey. With those few examples, I wished there was more fluidity at times and thought that was needed to pull the whole collection together more seamlessly.

Some poems were moving. My only complaint is the structure. I constantly had to reread lines because there was no true structure to the lines. There was no telling when a line started and when it ended or if it continued on. The words were constantly scattered all around the pages and it was frustrating having to decipher what would have been a simple sentence/poem.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. I enjoyed the writing style of this book. It is a fast paced poetry book. I absolutely can't wait to read more books by this author in the near future. This book is in stores for CA$33.50 (CAD). I would recommend reading this book to anyone and everyone.

Thank you to Ecco and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available!

Eloquent and elusive, The Collection Plate maps religion, Black girlhood, and family in an urgent manner. Flowing through the collection is a theme of water, muddled, clear and haunting. Blood waters that tie together family, environmental waste water that plagues generations, cellular water that helps us survive. Absolutely stunning!

Thanks to NetGalley for the Arc. There were some moving and thoughtful poems in this collection. I would recommend it to new poetry readers.

I was intrigued by the description of this work of poetry, but I couldn't get into it. I just didn't connect and found it difficult to read in the format it was in, which was acknowledged at the beginning of the book. I appreciated the chance to read it, but this one wasn't for me.

As a first read of contemporary poetry, I found this collection quite interesting. Kendra used an intriguing style of writing and structure throughout. It's hard to critique poetry, because interpretation of poetry is unique to each person.

The Collection Plate was indeed a collection plate of things: god, confessions, observations, experiences. There was a lot of water imagery, knitting the poetry tighter together.

I really enjoyed the sister poems and evening service.

There were times I was unsure if the structure of every poem was correct as I was reading an uncorrected proof. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. I am grateful to have been able experience this collection of poetry.

Kendra Allen's The Collection Plate offers an uncompromising body of poems. She gives voice to rage, specific and universal, and pulls the curtains away to show us the ugliness and hypocrisy that lie behind much of what passes as kindness or care. One of the best examples of this ability see shaming truths is offered by a pair of poems both titled "Naked and Afraid."

The first poem of this title seems to discuss strategies for winning on a program like Survivor—what to bring, what kind of location to look for. She notes "One of the biggest challenges contestants face/on the show is finding drinkable water." One needs containers for water. One needs fire—because even seemingly clear water will need disinfecting. And a failure to obtain clean water can have catastrophic consequences.

The second poem of this title, moves from reality TV to real life: "one of the biggest challenges citizens face/is finding drinkable water." The individuals at the heart of this poem aren't contestants out to win a prize. They're ordinary Americans living in cities like Flint, Michigan, where tap water can be deadly and drinking it can have catastrophic consequences: "Drinking from contaminated/waters leads to Legionnaires'/disease, lethal pneumonia,/abandonment, dehydration,/paranoia."

Reading Allen's work isn't easy—and it isn't intended to be. The mirror she holds up through her poems will have you seeing yourself and your world in damning, and also revealing, light. Enter these poems with caution, but also with openness. Read them one or two at a time and let them sink in. Allen wastes no words, and none of her words should be wasted by readers.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

The Collection Plate is a short debut contemporary poetry collection.

I had a hard time with this book, if I’m honest. Modern poetry can be a struggle for me to enjoy at any time, but I’m just not sure it fits an e-book format. The version I read was an ARC, so it’s possible that some of the confusing line breaks were corrected in the finished version, but it was just a difficult read. Because of the format, I’m not sure the real cadence or intent of each poem came through to me, and I just tried to speed and skim through as a result. If you’re thinking of picking this one up, I’d suggest opting for the physical book.

The Collection Plate was just published on July 6. Thank you to Ecco Books, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a free e-ARC of this book.

The Collection Plate by Kendra Allen is a personal poetry collection that covers a huge variety of topics. From her girlhood to the black experience to culture in the United States. Allen expresses her passion and pain well. I personally didn't connect to the style of the poetry, but know many might.

Thank you Ecco Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

A collection of raw and emotional poems. If you are looking for love poems/ feel good poems this is not it. These are the type of poems that portray the strong emotions and dark language. Filled with portrayals of hurt and anger towards the system.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book of poetry contains an interesting collection of the evaluation and critique of today's society. Formatted in a unique fashion, the author discusses topics that range from religion to societal constructs. It is a very interesting read.

The collection plate was a deeply personal collection of poetry. It’s hard to rate poetry because poems do different things for different people, I was captivated by the cover. The poems bring the cover to light. There is darkness and pain and there is the resilience (flowers) that grow from the pain black women endure. Some of the poems were not easy to read but overall I thought this was an original work.

A whole lot of nonsense. I love poetry when it actually makes sense. No flow, no story, no thing. I didn’t take a single thing away from this collection.

It was interesting to read these poetries and how each one reflected something about somebody's life and excellent writing Great book

The Collection Plate knocked the wind out of me at times. The themes explored through these poems were especially meaningful to me. Intially, I thought this would be a collection of poems about religion. While religion or religious jargon is weaved thoughout, Kendra Allen explores so much more. She explore family, love, grief, and community. I can't even begin to explain how water showed up over and over again, holding beautiful metaphors.

There were some poems were I wanted more. They did not feel complete. I was left on edge and not in a good way. However, I was more more wowed than no.

This shouldn't be seen as an easy read or one that won't linger. There's multitasking of words here spoken and unspoken alike.

Reading this book was an experience. Obviously your mind is processing the words, but it was such a visceral reaction. This book feels so Deep South. It feels raw, and angsty, and like this woman is taking back her power - confronting all the wrong that she has ever experienced. There was so much relating to living as a Black person in this country, to living as a woman, and I think this collection comes at a perfect time. This author explored the dark sides of the church, familial relationships, grief, love. It’s a heavy read, but worth it. There were a few poems that really stuck out to me, but I really liked “Nobody Told Her About the End of Love.”

I was given an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.