Thanks NetGalley and central Avenue publishing for the ARC. 3.5 stars rounded up. A lot of the language is really beautiful and compelling. Some of it just felt like a younger version of me would’ve really liked it.

Blake Auden's 'To Drown as a Cure for Thirst' was a beautiful collection of poems. His words were stunning, and the collection included many hard-hitting lines. The poems were powerful. I appreciated how much Auden addressed mental health, as it is underrepresented yet relatable for many, but I would also add a content warning for those themes. Overall a great collection of poetry!
Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the eARC!

I love poetry and usually small poems are not my thing but this book totally changed that! I enjoyed reading it so much.

It was initially the title that called to me. To drown as a cure for thirst? Absolute banger!

My favourite poems from this collection were : the only god i know is the thing that breaks me, standard-bearer & dolorosa.

The main themes of this collection were love, loss and grief. I loved the combination of this and the combination of syntax used to convey feelings And god, did I get them.

Here are some of my favourites :

"to fold my carcass
into the freezer
of your chest
and rot."

"and what is grief
if not the persistence
of want."

"i watch you admire
the ochre bled into evening,
the horizon
another dying animal
and i understand
something new about myself:
i am heavy everywhere
except your arms."

if this interests you, the book comes out in october! 💙

This explores grief, loss, depression, anxiety and a lot of other very heavy topics so I don't feel comfortable getting into the specifics of what I enjoyed as they are very personal. However, I will say that if you deal with urges of self harm and suicidal ideation be cautious going into this book as it does explore the relief/comfort that it can bring at times which I fear could be dangerous if you are not in the right mindset.

As much as I appreciate classic poetry, I do not have much recent experience with modern poets. When I saw the title of this collection by poet Blake Auden, I made the NetGalley request. To Drown as a Cure for Thirst is a title that captured my attention and made me want to give this poetry collection a try. This collection is the 5th for Auden, a poet that I did not know prior to receiving the book.

The poems are beautifully written, about life, love and the internal struggle that life’s day to day pains cause. Written during the pandemic, it would be hard for even those uncomfortable with poetry not to relate. The poems are simply stated, direct, and yet a lot of the moments I experienced while reading stuck with me.

The book can be a little difficult to read if you, like many of us, had great struggles during the pandemic and in life in general. I’d definitely recommend giving it a read, even if, like me, you’re not much of a poetry reader.

https://bruner-books.com/2022/08/18/arc-to-drown-as-a-cure-for-thirst-by-blake-auden/

Thank you Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the ARC copy. I really enjoyed these poems. I think they will translate better in a physical copy as the formatting is sometimes impacted by the kindle version. Some of the poems really resonated with me and there are multiple sections highlighted in my copy. Personally I really enjoy short prose poetry so this book was perfect for me. The themes of loss and anxiety are powerful in the book.. I will definitely be recommending it to other readers wanting to read on these topics.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read and enjoy this beautifully written e-arc.
This was a great poem collection. I read it over the course of a few days then immediately reread it.

‘To drown as. A cure for thirst’ is fresh and engaging for all poetry readers. It’s punchy and blunt, in a perfect mix that makes you ache to consume this collection in one sitting.

I really enjoy this poetry book, despite it being deeply sad, although that was perhaps the beauty in it. So many lines brought back memories or stuck a chord in me and I really enjoyed it. Would recommend to fans of Keaton Henson.

One of my favorite poems is "Let me show you what I know about time: iii". Calling depression a skilled butcher and every whetted edge slips quietly. I cried. I actually cried because it put beautifully into words what I feel sometimes when I am depressed. These poems are beautiful and I never wanted them to end. I have read this multiple times and it took me a few days to try to even put into words what I feel. I think this is my favorite poem collection of the year so far. I am excited to read more!

ARC provided by @NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

To Drown as a Cure for Thirst is a beautiful collection of short poems about love and loss. I may be wrong but it seemed influenced by Vuong’s poetry and the almost tangible physicality of his writing. Auden’s style is much lighter and has its own rhythm. It’s a bit too direct and on the surface for my liking but still full of powerful language to enjoy.

A lovely poetry collection focused around mental health, grief, love, and loneliness. The use of language and metaphor is beautiful and gut-wrenching, filled with a lot of artistic imagery and expression. My interpretation of the over-arching theme is the reality of feeling too much or not at all and the complicated emotions are described in a way that's lyrical but still accessible. While I do think each poem complements Auden's chosen subjects, I think another level of curation would have highlighted some of the weaker poems, which would have made the collection more succinct and a little less repetitive. Nonetheless, it was an impactful read and I enjoy Auden's style.

This was my first Blake Auden poetry collection and I was deeply moved by the overlaying themes of loss, grief, anxiety and the desire to hold on to love. “To hurt is simply an act of remembering” was the line which hooked me and made me want to pick up this book, but there are many more lines that have really stuck with me. Reading poetry is a very personal and mood-dependent experience, and the number of highlighted passages, of these little nuggets that find an echo inside me is what makes me decide if it was the right pick for me. This book definitely was.
Of course, I did not connect with every single poem, and some of them left me colder than the rest, especially when I could not relate because I have different experiences. Some motifs and expressions also feel a bit overused when you read the collection in one sitting as I did. But this was an excellent introduction to the author’s work and I’m definitely going to dive into his other books.

TW: I would add that self-harm is often addressed, so if this is triggering for you, you might want to take self-care breaks while reading this book.

Thank you so much Netgalley and the Publisher for review copy in exchange of honest opinion..

What a gorgeous book! The unique name and beautiful cover caught my eye and I requested it out of instinct more than anything. It's divided into 4 parts. Though Poetry isn't exactly my kind of thing, I discovered I could understand most of them. It's sad but soothing, with some of the most impressive lines I've read this year. I'm sharing my most favourite poems below :

1. Another Smal Weight.
2. Under.
3. I Don't Know How To Change.
4. Thirty - Seven.
5. I Know Not What It Is To Forget.
6. It Shouldn't Feel Like Winter.
7. It Is Always The Past That Holds Us.
8. Nothing New.
9. Dolorosa.
10. To The Sea.

Favourite quotes :

1. I have known
the hollow
Of yearning.

Of becoming a word
Stripped of meaning
and pressed to the ground
at your feet.

2. And what is grief
if not the persistence
of want,

The determination
of love
to stay.

3. What is poetry
If not
the translation
Of silence?

4. To remember is to relieve,
and to live is to endure.

5. but self-preservation
is a single
apartment,
and anxiety has built
an entire city
beneath
my tongue.

this was my first book by this author, but I’m definitely interested in reading his other work. I think the use of language was inspiring, a bit cliché at times, but overall I felt connected to the words and the feelings behind them.

Short form prose and poetry that actually invokes feeling and wonder is something I've been missing lately and To Drown as a Cure for Thirst gives me exactly that. Auden captures the themes of grief, change, and love so easily in so few words.

I would compare the style and themes to poets like Mary Oliver, Robert Frost, and Nayyirah Waheed.

My favorite poems are: "Tell Me Something Good", "Another Small Weight", "Ruin", and "Under."

The poems in this collection are interesting and beautifully written. They reflect on themes such as grief, mental health, and loneliness, and while they were not particularly engaging for me, I would recommend this book to others.

This poetry collection deals with a few important topics, like anxiety, depression, self harm and loss, but was portrayed excellently. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of poetry, I liked it that much that I read it in a day! To be honest, I think I’ve probably underlined half of this book.

This poetry book tackles some important aspects, such as anxiety. Like with every poetry book, there were poems I really loved and poems I didn’t fully connect with.
Overall, I did like the writing style of the poems and the messages they carried, so I’m giving this poetry collection 3,5 out of 5 stars.

This book was not for me. I appreciated the theme, and personal nature of the poems on grief, but they weren't the kind of style that holds my prolonged interest. I'm sure many others will appreciate, and thank you for the ARC.