Thanks to NetGalley & Graywolf Press for the ARC!

Harryette Mullen’s "Regaining Unconsciousness" is an apocalyptic playground for a gifted poet in her final form—a writer with nothing to lose because she occupies a world with everything to lose.

A book-opening quote from Freud illuminates the purpose behind the collection's title—these poems prod readers not to ignorance, but to the confidence of perceived immortality. We imagine destruction, but what if we looked at destruction and imagined something on the other side?

Sometimes it’s aspirational. Sometimes it’s damnable.

As the poet puts it in “The Only Ones,” - "we / follow tomorrow, / standing ready to welcome / the improbable."

Mullen has always been a fascinating and fun poet, lightly dancing across forms. Her language play feels like play, and readers of Sleeping with the Dictionary will appreciate the return of those hip-hop shaded cadences. Likewise, if you’re familiar with any of the books in Recyclopedia, you’ll recognize the heft of the poet’s social critique. Mullen excels in contrast, inventing rhyme schemes only to let them stall out and collapse, or using the shapeless abstractions of one poem to make lines like “Black women have a high rate of mortality” land with the blunt force they deserve.

The poet’s earlier work was often noted for how it utilized code-switching, but whether it’s because cultural discourse has changed or Mullen is even more chameleonic than before, “Regaining Unconsciousness” seems to explode register at every moment. Everything is fair game, and that’s because everything is in crisis. A goofily direct subversion of “Part of Your World” from Disney’s "The Little Mermaid" might bemoan widespread ocean pollution, but Mullen extends that same apocalyptic significance to post-break-up pain.

It’s all the end of the world.

Often, I find that writers fall into reductionism by fixating on a “pet issue,” often deliberately ignoring others. Mullen seems to have a deep conviction—and rich understanding—that all power structures facilitate corruption. She approaches these structures with nuance that comforts more often than it condemns, suggesting limits to personal complicity.

But we are complicit.

The section on COVID, “Now’s Not The Time For Your Tears,” works because it avoids the impulse to romanticize crisis. I’ve read far too many books that wax nostalgic about making sourdough, and Mullen seems to agree. We might have been horrified to go without toilet paper, but that’s pathetic, not poetic. The speaker draws attention to the people who were shackled by the supply chain—the people who made sure we could get any toilet paper at all. We are responsible for how our consumption consumes others.

That said, some things are outside of our control. In pieces like “Chili Today, Hot Tamale,” the speaker notes that the cost of a breakfast burrito is a decimated environment, but “we only wanted cheap fast food. . .” The “we” is generous in its ambiguity, and within the context of the whole collection, it feels like our culpability is forgivable—everyone still needs to eat. We can aspire to more, but some of these problems likely remain beyond our personal control.

In the end, it feels like Mullen is getting at a simple idea—we need forgiveness as much as we need accountability if we are to imagine a future worth having. Without it, apathy is our only recourse. Our actions condemn us, but if we want to move past them, we need to understand and forgive the mindset that led to them.

As always, Harryette Mullen’s work demands more attention than one can give it in a few reads, but "Regaining Unconsciousness" is a book that rewards readers for their time. I can’t wait to revisit it.

This poetry collection offers a timely reflection on major global and societal issues, including COVID-19, racial injustice, political unrest, overconsumption, and climate change. Structurally, it’s quite strong — the collection is thoughtfully divided into sections, and the poems are arranged in a way that maintains a coherent flow. I appreciated the stylistic range, which moved between stream-of-consciousness and more traditional prose forms. This variety helped keep the pacing engaging and showed Harryette Mullen's knack for versatility.

However, while the range of topics and styles was impressive, the collection’s size worked against it at times. Certain poems stood out with clarity and emotional depth, but others felt overly ambiguous, requiring more effort from the reader to uncover meaning. That ambiguity, while perhaps intentional, left some pieces feeling underdeveloped or inaccessible. This criticism aside, I will say that for such a large collection I never felt like the poems became repetitive.

Overall, this is a well-structured and thematically relevant collection with some real standouts though at times the impact of some poems is somewhat diluted by inconsistency in conveying a clear message, I still think this one is worth the read!

I really enjoyed this collection. The way the words danced and spun together was melodic.

Thanks for the ARC

Unfortunately this poetry was not for me. It could be the way the ARC was formatted? I’m not sure but I just couldn’t connect with any of the poems or find interest in them. I loved the idea of this book and the topics it covered but just could not continue it with the way it was formatted.

Unfortunately, this collection wasn't for me.
I couldn't connect to any of the poems like I assumed I would. I had high hopes and they fell flat. I wanted more than what I was getting, the poems felt dull. It could also be that I wasn't a fan of how the ARC was formatted?
I don't think I'll be picking up a physical copy.

Love a poetry collection that surpasses expectations and finds the heart of their narrative through experimental forms, prose poems, and a passion for writing. This is a loud collection that creates a space for marginalized voices to be heard from poem to poem. If the cover does not convince you then their enticing lyrical writing should be enough reason to dive into the abyss with this one. These are poems with subjects and the content related to them is deep, but they are also metaphors for how society subjects people to racism, rigid gender constructs, and hateful political rhetoric.
The prose poetry is a persistent form in this collection, and it really gave the author a format to express the way society has repressed their voice. This also amplifies the voices of their community ensuring that this message must be heard. Highlighting racial disparities and having the audience sit and listen to really soak in the words. The diction really illuminates the struggles and highlights where the message needs to be listened to the most.
Love the metaphors of weather and the forecast that is not just about weather patterns and climate change. It’s a forecast of society and the consequences of behaviors. “Weathering Hate” explores the way dangerous rhetoric has impaired society and set society back due to the inclement persistent push of misinformation in recent times. The line break in “Wind is Pink” really constructs the emotional impact from the actions mentioned in such a short poem. Read this thrice to really soak it in.
The hints of vegan discussion and activism in “Luvtofu” is a poem about tofu. But how else can we apply to the versatility of the facets of our personality trying to dissuade freedom of expression? Think about that as you read this through. Then we have “Mermaid of Palmares” that expresses the thirst we have for something more and something better than the state we are given. These are just a few shout outs to the myriad fabulous poems in this collection that make tidal waves of sound.
This collection is a well organized streamline of thoughts through experimental poetry forms, prose poetry, and lyrical forms that really tie the message of racial and social injustices occurring today. This is my favorite future release of poetry thus far. Thank you NetGalley and Greywolf Press for this advanced digital copy and an opportunity to leave an honest review!