With this fascinating title and illuminating cover, plus the promise of poetry, I was intrigued by this book. I was pleased with what I found inside as Tayi Tibble demonstrates a love of language, and presentation of identity, and wonderful word play.

4.5⭐️

First things first, READ THIS COLLECTION!

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I usually rush through poetry books, simply because I don’t really connect with them or am not in the mood to be insightful but this collection is so refreshing! I think it helps that I relate to the author (a woman of a similar age) whose wit matches my own.
In this break-taking novel Tayi Tibble uses Greek, kiwi, Māori and feminist mythologies to discuss modern trends and pop culture references like sugar daddies, the Kardashians, and a whole poem about Twilight (Vampires vs Werewolves, a fav!). Tibble discusses how colonization, work and gender are connected to effect us as women. This collection felt honest and personal but not to personal that I felt like a voyuer listening to Tibble’s secrets through a door.

It is important to note that with Tibble’s use of modern terms and language, it might be harder for an older generation to connect to these poems. But the writing isn’t to advanced for the everyday person to enjoy! There is also the inclusion of Māori words (which I googled for full understanding). If you want to read more about colonization, intergenerational trauma, sexuality and shame this is the poetry collection for you!

This was a great debut for Tibble and I can’t wait to see what they create in the future!

*The cover art is SPECTACULAR. The addition of trigger warnings at the beginning would also be beneficial.

This was a beautiful collection of poetry by Tayi Tibble. Some of the poems were a bit simple and colloquial but overall I enjoyed most of them and Tayi's way with words. I'm a bit averse to poetry that refers to pop culture too much, so I personally could have done without as many references as there were, but most of the writing was so beautiful, I didn't mind it as much.

I always love to expand my horizons with new forms of poetry. This collection is a deep and inventive work, however, not fully in my style. I'm so glad to have read it to learn where my edges are in terms of interest in poetry. Thank you so much for the opportunity to review.

These poems are so important and thought provoking. They should be read be who what’s to read poetry, learn from poetry, and enjoy poetry. They should be read by all who want to learn about different experiences and different realities of life.

The book does need content/trigger warnings for: drugs/alchohol, sex, abuse, domestic violence, and death

These poems were beautiful. They were told in varying forms, but all in the same style. They are descriptive and thoughtful. A personal expression of confusion, grief, joy, and lust. Tibble tells of her personal experiences and those of people she loves the most - including parents and siblings - in a way that is easy to comprehend and even connect with.

Poetry is meant to be personal, not only to the poet but to the audience. Tibble's poetry is just that- readers can feel the desperation, love, and loss she writes into her poems, despite not living the same experiences. These are poems written for Tibble, but that everyone can enjoy.

Strange, sharp, smart, and sublime. Some of these poems really *hit*. Made me think, and visualize, and reread, because I adored them. Some of the poems made me laugh out loud. This collection was weird, and visual, and really enjoyable.

Some of the references did go over my head, and while I tried to google what I could, I am sure some of the poignancy and meaning was lost.

Overall, this was enjoyable, and I hope to read more from the author!

I am also OBSESSED with the cover.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"In fact, it must be difficult not to sprout a head of snakes in a society that constantly hisses at you."

Tibble has written a moving and provocative collection of poems that cover a variety of topics, mostly focusing on her experiences as an indigenous woman. I always like to include in my reviews for poetry that I believe poetry is very subjective, as it is such a raw expression of the soul. Not every poem hit home for me but that just means those poems weren't meant for me. That being said, there were several lines I had to keep rereading because I felt them in my heart. Tibble is an incredibly talented writer and I am glad I was given the opportunity to read this book.

Very beautiful and personal poetry collection. I was very drawn in by the lush prose, while also keenly feeling the deeply human element at the core of this collection. A lot of poetry feels purposefully closed off to personal interpretation, as if the poet themselves wishes for their poetry to feel hostile to the average reader; this was absolutely the opposite with Tibble's debut, the poetry in which felt vibrant and welcoming, while still balancing the edge of hostility inherent in collections such as this one. Poukahangatus is about the colonization of a people a culture, and just one girl, and in encompassing such a range in just a short handful of pages, Tibble has achieved a level of accessibility as well as beauty that should not be overlooked.

Thank you Knopf Publishing Group and NetGalley for granting me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this collection really beautiful and enticing! I was drawn in by the gorgeous cover at first, but I am so glad I came across this on NetGalley. It was a really quick read, and I feel like I could have liked a little more time in this collection, but overall I had a very good reading experience, and recommend to poetry lovers!

I must admit, the main reason why I choose this book is because of the beautiful cover of the book and the title of the book quite unique.

Well, at first I thought it's will be written in a poem way turn out it's a collection of poems, mix with paragraphs of her personal life. This is something new for me. I have a few favourite authors for the poem genre but nothing is like this. This is new for me. Expresses herself in poems that reveal her emotions about what she feels all along with other people's perspectives towards her.

This is a nice poem. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, however, this type of poem isn't really my cup of tea.

I understand the apeal of this book and it's importance (and you should deffinetly read it) but the writting wasn't really my cup of tea. I, in general, am not the biggest poetry lover (only one I really read and loved was Rupi Kaur) so this wasn't the book for me.

Tayi Tibble's poetry collection where she explores life as an Indigenous woman in the 21st century has gotten a new cover for its American release.
It's a meditation on life today, pulling from history and pop culture as well as personal memories to form a cohesive view on what it means to grow up in a time where your identity is drowned out in the current, interconnected global zeitgeist.

Her writing has a charm and bite I really enjoyed. Her dry humour shows up in the title already, Poūkahangatus, a play on the name Pocahontas and the Māori words "pou" (pillar or pole) and "kaha" (power or strength), which shows up again in her pieces where she dives deeper into the feshitization and othering she has experienced, the same as her grandmother did decades prior. She is also quick to jump from one mythology to another, being indiscriminate on where she pulls metaphors, references and ideas from. There are a themes of high school troubles, dead Indigenous ancestors, musings on discrimination based on hair colour and texture, drawing similarities between her and her grandmother's life, retelling Māori myths, and New Zealand locations thrown around.

Many pieces have more of a diary format to them with a title, others are written in the more modern poetry style you know from Rupi Kaur and Nayyirah Waheed, with many line breaks and short sentences. You can see an underlying feminist theme in all of their works.

My two favourite pieces were Sensitivity, a very short poem of the representation on the Māori in the media which was impeccable and Receipt, part complaint, part lament about an awkward encounter and problem of connecting memories with items
Vampires versus Werewolves was also excellent and analyzes the impact of Twilight from a point of view I haven't seen before and which goes to many different places in its dialogue. Or accusatory questioning might be more apt, as one side of the conversation only ever asks one thing: Can you be more specific?




You might not recognize all the names and places mentioned, or you might feel confused by the inclusion of Māori words but for one, the context clues are there to help you (a quick online search always works as well) and let's be honest, whether it says pōhutukawa or New Zealand Christmas tree, the chances of you knowing what it looked like were pretty low either way.
I would say that is geared toward the younger generations since it does focus on internet phenomenons, modern celebrities, and such, but I would not say it is a necessity.

This is the first arc of poetry I have ever read. So the form was interesting but the content is epic.
These poems are evocative, challenging to me as a reader and truly exquisite.

When I first decided I wanted this book it was because of the name. It was so unique and different having said that I didn’t know what to expect in the poetry. What I got was laughs, flashbacks to apricot nightgowns and a whole lot of other things that I totally identified with. I can’t wait to see Miss.Tibble’s other books. I’ve only ever bought books by one poet would buy her books at any time and now I have two. This book is not just your roses are red violets are blue… this is the kind that rips you open and dissect you from the inside out and you love every minute of it. When I first downloaded the book I was going to read just a couple of poems and really get into it later. Before I knew it I had read the whole book and wanted to read more. I can’t say enough about this poetry book, I loved it, I loved it, I loved it! Needless to say I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves great poetry and you’ll love this book… I certainly did! I was given this book by Nat Galley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Please forgive any grammatical of punctuational hours as I am blind and dictate my review, but all opinions are my own.

This is a collection of poetry that ties in many different cultures, but especially Maori. Some of the the writings are more short prose (like one paragraph) than poetry, but it was all interesting to read.

"Tell me, am I navigating correctly? The sea our ancestors traversed stretches out farther than the stars."

Brutally honest and at times dry-humoured, Poukahangatus (pronounced as Pocahontas) is a collection of varying prose and poetry about femininity, identity, culture, and pop culture references, cleverly spun to project what it means to be a woman of color and of indigenous roots in these modern times.

I tend to veer off from modern poems, because I find that they're not really up to my alley, but the cover of this book caught my eyes. What's inside, though, proved to have none of the delicacy of the outside, as Tibble wrote such frank and razor-sharp pieces that eventually grew on me as I turned the pages. Although I did not enjoy the writing style so much—I love purple prose and flowery words, and this collection do not have those in abundance—I still appreciated how it entranced me enough to keep me reading. I liked that the author switched between poems and proses, styles and lengths, interlacing her own experiences on the narrative. Some of the pieces were too personal and unique that I struggled to connect and relate with it. This might be the reason why I am partial to the paragraph proses more, for at least they offer a wider sense of scope and did not leave me grappling. Albeit it's too "insta poetry" for my tastes, I enjoyed and liked some pieces. From "Indigenous Hair Dos and Don'ts" to "Nobody in the Water" and "Vampires and Werewolves", I would say that this is an interesting and firm debut.

Easily understandable and a very short read, I would recommend this to anyone who likes the works of Lang Leav and Rupi Kaur.

3.5 stars rounded off to 4.

First of all can we talk about the cover and the colors? I love it. I did enjoy this book at times i was a little confused at some things but i did enjoy the poetry style of the author it felt like i was reading more so stories in poetry form which i liked and i also liked the representation in this book.

I thoroughly loved how soulful this collection was. The bits of humor here and there, the generational trauma, the mentions of how Indigenous women are exoticised for simply existing in any way.

Beautifully written and would certainly purchase this for my collection.

This was not a poetry collection for me. I don't read a lot of poetry, some Andrea Gibson and some Amanda Lovelace, but I live in New Zealand and was excited to try this one out.
I didn't enjoy the writing style and found the essays and poems too chaotic and abrupt for my taste, but I'm glad that so many others love Poukahangatus.

I can certainly recommend checking this one out, I just was not the right audience for this.

Thanks Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.