I immensely enjoyed reading this poetry collection. Kate Baker's poems were deep and spoke out to me. I'd definitely recommend this book.

I have been a fan of Kate Baer's poetry since her first book and was thrilled to be able to read this one. I enjoyed her use of strong language to convey the lived experience that is so often universal to so many women. I was admittedly less impressed with this latest book as I was with her poetry that she had written in later years but still enjoyed reading this one immensely. Kate Baer is thought provoking and accessible and a worthwhile read--especially for those who think that poetry is beyond them. Kate Baer will show you that anyone can enjoy language in the form of these beautiful poems.

3 stars for an interesting and modern collection of poetry~

This was a quick read of very different and modern poems for the times. Some of them I really resonated with and liked, while others fell flat [for me personally, not for everyone]. I think this is an interesting look at the times we are dealing with and modern life.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the digital ARC for review!

Kate Baer is the perfect voice for all the suburban moms out there, giving their all and frayed at the edges. Her previous collection (What Kind of Woman) dealt with divorce and was consequently less hopeful. These poems show the exhaustion and the love in a way that made me, a SAHM, feel seen.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC!

I am drawn to poems, finding seasons in my life when I can't help but seek out recommendations and settle into the practice of quieting the world around me as I slowly take in the words. Poetry won't allow you to speed read, as the pacing and words insist on your attention or miss out on their impact. Kate Baer had been on my list to read, so I welcomed the opportunity to experience And Yet.

Baer is a powerful force, drawing readers in and wrenching their emotions through well chosen words. Poems in this volume are replete with observations on motherhood, friendship, marriage, and even the pandemic plays into some of the themes.

With this book, Baer has demonstrated herself to be a must read for me, one that I will impulse buy and collect her books on my shelf so they are in reach when I need to settle myself and indulge in the retreat that can be found within these pages.

(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

I really enjoyed these poems. They were beautifully written. I want to read more by this author in the future and I enjoyed the narrator. They were pleasant to listen to.

This is my second Kate Baer and I definitely was not disappointed. Baer continues her honest exploration of motherhood, womanhood, and societal expectations, and I enjoyed every part of it. I also loved how the pandemic my subtlety incorporated. While I am not a mother myself and could not relate to all the poems, there were many that I deeply felt. Baer makes me feel seen in ways that many poets try but fail to, so I will definitely be picking up everything she writes in the future.

I’m not usually a poems girl but I am a mom of 3 small children living on this planet so I found this collection very relatable and lovely and bleak. I will definitely be reading more by Baer, and gifting this book.

✨✨✨.5 / 5

An intimate portrait of a woman’s navigation through life, motherhood and the pandemic. I enjoyed this small, but mighty, book of poems. Though I don’t believe I was the intended audience for this book, the writing was still poignant. The message throughout the book remains clear: we endure through the trials and tribulations of our lives.

Thank you to @netgalley and @harperperennial for the ARC. 🖤

While some parts of the internet can make you feel so alone, then there are feeds like @katejbaer. If you haven't checked it out yet, you must. My favorite posts are her "digital collages" that are just so powerful!,
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I initially came across her work when her first collection of poetry hit Bookstagram by storm back in the fall of 2020. Have you read #WhatKindOfWoman? 💭
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#AndYet is her highly anticipated second full-length poetry collection, and if you think you are not into poetry, you might want to meet Kate first. Her writing is not only relatable but also super empowering and everything you didn't know you needed in a world where it sometimes feels like you don't have a moment to just breathe.
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And Yet "dives deeper into the themes that are the hallmarks of her writing: motherhood, friendship, love, and loss. Taken together, these poems demonstrate the remarkable evolution of a writer and an artist working at the height of her craft, pushing herself and her poetry in a beautiful and impressive way."

I loved this book so much and highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for my gifted copy.

Kate Baer is the only person who can get me fired up to read poetry. She's so smart and funny and spot on with everything. My favorites were "Mix Up" about a woman switching bodies with her husband, "The Garden of Eden: Updated Jacket Copy for the Modern World", and "Oldest Trick" which made me cackle out loud because I also ask my children if they remembered their butts when we leave the house.

Everyone should read this book (and her prior collections). She's a goddamn treasure.

4 stars!

Kate Baer is one of my favorite poets. She is such a terrific, visceral author. I loved "What Kind of Woman," and I really really liked "And Yet."

Some of my favorite poems in this book include the following:

*Themes of Body Positivity and what it means to be a woman in 2022*

-There Are Days: a poem about how sexism starts young and continues to permeate every single facet of women's lives as men climb ladders to happiness and success and restrict what women want.

-Bad Woman: "is she wicked or good? Women must wrestle with this ever-present question, whether pregnant or single, at work and home, in public or in private. UGH, KATE IS SO GOOD.

-Headstone Suggestions

-Beach Body: preaches body acceptance and positivity in all body types. I absolutely love this message, hot, soft, loud, lover, mother, loose, strong, etc, all bodies are beautiful and necessary. Refreshing, honest, vital.

-Reasons to Log Off: how f**ked up is the internet where looking for a recipe for cauliflower can lead you to remember an old acquaintance who starved herself of what she wanted in an effort to stay thin? Or how mentioning a Pride walk to support the right to marry can lead another faceless, nameless human to tell you to die because you support everyone's right to love? This poem perfectly portrays what it's like to be online as a woman. Being a woman online is scary, especially when Greg wants your number.

-Written Affair: there's nothing worse than a woman written by a man in a novel.

-Grounds for Divorce: how simple it must be to be a man who cannot give birth. Think of the gall it must take to say "it's not that bad."

-Idea: so visceral, so raw. I just love Kate's writing!!

*Motherhood*

-On a Thursday Afternoon: a simple prayer asking the children to listen and usher in a better, more accepting, and loving world from where we are now. The children are our future. Is that a good thing?

-On Mars - how would it feel to be truly free?

*The COVID-19 Pandemic*

-Late Summer in a Global Pandemic: what do you do when you're stuck inside with kids amid a global pandemic? I don't have kids, so I can't imagine how hard that must have been, where every little thing sets them off and all you want to do is protect them from this scary new threat in our world. Because even when businesses close and we put on masks to protect each other, people can't just stop being parents.

-Daily Planet: I have to imagine this poem consists of reading headlines that came about during the pandemic because it's giving me MAJOR PTSD, especially as someone immunocompromised who has had to be careful during the pandemic. There was so much unrest and stress and turmoil that it takes me right back... "what we know to be true."

-At the Covid Testing Clinic: so many sad thoughts, all painfully true in the wake of the pandemic.

-Awake, And Yet, When Someone Askes If I Ever Think of You, Baby Good, Can the Universe Be Poetic Without a God... they are ALL incredible! All of these stolen or public or private moments we all seemingly collectively share, Kate knows how to make them feel real and exquisite and painful and perfect. Read this book of poetry!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Baer, and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks, Harper Perennial for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

"How foolish we are / to believe what we love won’t end."

And Yet by Kate Baer is probably my least favorite of her poetry collections so far . It's kinda funny how much I love the covers for And Yet and What Kind of Woman, but I Hope This Finds You Well with its plain pink cover is my favorite of her poetry collections.

Even though this wasn't on the top poetry collections I read this year, I will still read everything else that Kate Baer publishes. Here's the list of my favorite poems in And Yet:

- If You Were to Ask for the Secret to a Happy Marriage
- Burnout
- Idea
- When Someone Asks If I Ever Think of You
- January
- Sad Olympics

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Kate Baer continues to cut straight through my heart as a mother and a woman. She is in my brain and in my soul and articulates the heaviest things I carry with searing honesty and compassion.

I read poetry in Highschool and didn’t think it was for me…

AND YET I absolutely devoured Kate Baer’s latest poetry collection. I planned to read a poem a day for Nonfiction November but I couldn’t help but binging these poems in one hour.

Her musings on womanhood, being a mother, and wry social commentary were spot on. Kate narrated the audiobook and I loved having her speak words into my life that resonated so deeply.

Her words found me as I was trying to make dinner while wearing a fussy baby during witching hour. It was in this very moment that I heard the words, “I wear him like a spare appendage” as Kate reflected on life with her newborn son. I felt so seen. She captures the beauty and exhaustion of this season so perfectly.

These words are special, and poignant, and oh so timely. Even if poetry isn’t your thing, I’d encourage you to give AND YET a try.

RATING: 5/5
PUB DATE: November 8, 2022

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for an electronic ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.
Review will be posted to www.instagram.com/kellyhook.readsbooks when the Harper Union Strike has ended.

Kate Baer is a new favorite! I love her words. I don't entirely relate to them — she writes a lot about the mundanities of marriage and motherhood — but her work feels brave and fresh. It's thoroughly modern and feels very of-the-times without being annoying about it.

While I personally don't find the book as relatable as I found the author's first to be, I still appreciate the theme and her magical touch in every poem. There may have been a few times when I perceived a particular part of a poem to sound a little like a cliche, but so were there parts that I was in awe of Kate's brilliance. I have met Kate twice and she is hilarious, so genuine, and friendly. I would definitely recommend this book to any poetry lover. Not to mention how gorgeous the cover is.

Kate Baer is quickly becoming one of my favorite poets. This particular collection is incredible. Her writing style is so fun and dynamic!

Kate Baer's poetry collection "And Yet" shows both the beautiful and the messy parts of being a mother and friend in the 2020's. Melodic but frank, Baer's writing shows readers that their struggles are not experienced alone. Unfortunately, this is one I think I wasn't quite ready for--I think I may appreciate it more in a few years--but ultimately a collection I would recommend to a friend.

This was a fun, off the wall collection of poetry written by a modern woman for modern women. I enjoyed reading about being a mom, body image problems as a woman and the struggles we as women encounter everyday. I also liked some of the modern topics that were hit on as well and how there isn’t a perfect way to respond to situations.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️