Normally I would not consider myself a major poetry fan. However, "Manifest Destiny" only needed a few pages before it completely turned me. Armed with his soneta format and his chosen range of themes, Pelumi Olatinpo is both proudly unapologetic and absolutely ruthless here. Each individual poem packs its own fierce punch, and usually quite unequivocally. However, in case of potential confusion that may blunt their meaning, Olatinpo includes endnotes at the end of each chapter, providing all the helpful context one may need.

I saw this definitely an absolute must-read that fits in almost painfully perfectly with these times, and a collection that I most definitely plan on recommending widely.

Manifest Destiny is a book of poetry, all written in a form the author created in his first work called the sonnetta. It blends traditional poetic structure with the lyrical rhythms of African oral traditions, making the poems both musical and deeply engaging.

The collection covers a wide range of topics—racism, the war in Gaza, politics in the United States, Black freedom and history, global struggles, and, woven throughout, many poems about love. I found the poems both powerful and accessible. If you’re new to poetry, this would be a great starting point—the rhythm practically invites you to read aloud, and it almost feels like singing. If you’re already familiar with poetry, there’s plenty of depth here, as the conciseness of the form still carries great meaning.

The book is thoughtfully organized, with an introduction explaining the sonnetta, and each section is followed by end notes. I really appreciated those notes, since they gave helpful context and deepened my understanding of the poems.

Overall, this is a rich, rewarding collection that I highly recommend to anyone interested in poetry—whether you’re brand new to it or a longtime reader.

This was a very interesting format for poetry that I enjoyed. the author had some solid moving prose in some of his poems. I did feel like there was some them vs us rhetoric that was misplaced. This was specifically towards the Jewish people. I think maybe he has Israel and ethnic Jewish people confused. I think comparing how many monuments to the holocaust to how many monuments to slavery there are is not a fair comparison.

I do not usually read poetry and wouldn't consider myself an avid reader of poetic works. However, this will not stop me from recommending and referring people to this title.

This title is a wonderfully written and presented work. I especially appreciated the use of poetry as a medium to approach, discuss and incite reflection upon contemporary events. It is written in a manner that makes it approachable yet loses none of its nuance and profoundness.

Overall, an interesting title full of retrospection and a must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC!

“Manifest Destiny” by Pelumi Olatinpo is a book of poetry using a unique form the poet calls a soneta (somewhat based on the sonnet). The poems in this collection range on subjects from racial identity, colonialism, the war in Gaza, religion, creativity, and even goes a bit meta and covers poetry itself.

Now, poetry isn’t exactly in my wheelhouse. I can appreciate the art form, the lyrical structure, and I definitely enjoy a good metaphor. But poetry isn’t something I pursue reading on a regular basis. However, I chose to review this title from Netgalley because I feel it is important to step outside of my comfort zone from time to time and expand my horizons. With that in mind…

This collection is broken down into four “books,” each of which is divided in to three sections. This provides a structure that both groups certain sonetas in a way, but also walks the reader through a lyrical journey. Each book concludes with endnotes, which provides explanations of the poet’s intent for each soneta, historical context, and ways in which they reference or are inspired by other works. I consider myself fairly learned, but I found these endnotes to be a helpful guide and found that there were a few places where something had actually gotten past me that I didn’t recognize. I appreciated that the poet took the time to put this together, so as to leave little question of his intent.

As for the sonetas themselves, while an interesting format, their fast and loose structure might be off-putting to some, especially to those who feel poetry must follow a more rigid and traditional structure. To quote the text explanation: “The soneta is a six-line poem with no more than ten words per line, and a fixed rhyme scheme of poet choice (for example: AAAAAA, AAABBB, ABCABC, among others). It traces its roots from the traditional English sonnet…; the musical form sonata…; and the aural power of West African oral traditions.” As such, the poems are generally fairly compressed, attempting to convey some big ideas in only six lines (occasionally, a following soneta might pick up thread from the previous one, but it’s fairly rare in this collection). The poet is usually successful in accomplsihing this feat, although the endnotes help quite a bit (in many cases, the endnotes for a particular soneta may be longer than the soneta itself, but I think that’s by design).

As I said, this isn’t exactly my wheelhouse, but I can still appreciate the effort and creativity that went into this collection. Covering historical and current events, “Manifest Destiny” is worth taking a look at, even if poetry isn’t really your thing. It might be appreciated more by a poetry afficionado (or not, depending on how rigidly one might adhere to traditional poetic structures), but in my case, I can give it a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Manifest Destiny is a unique and powerful poetry collection exploring themes of love, social justice, race, war, violence, colonialism, politics, religion, and more. Pelumi Olatinpo’s signature “sonata” is a six-line poem with a maximum of ten words per line, making it accessible accessible and musical yet passionate and powerful. Each poem is beautifully written with emotional depth, sometimes brutal and unapologetic. My favorite part might be the extensive endnotes at the end of each book that allow the reader to explore the historical and religious references in the endnotes further.

This collection will stick with me, and I’ll reread it with my notebook nearby, capturing my emotions and exploring the endnotes. As someone who doesn’t read much poetry, I eagerly await more from Olatinpo. Highly recommended! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Reviewing and rating this was difficult. Poetry is such a personal journey, not only to the poet but the reader as well. The subject matter of these poems sat heavy in my soul. The breadth of topics the poet covered were remarkable. The book is broken into 4 sections: First Light, Testament, Sanctuary and The Return. There are numerous biblical undertones throughout, which depending on an individuals beliefs, it could detach them some from the overall message.
The poet created a new type of poem. The soneta. A soneta is a 6 line poem that can be no more than 10 words per line and the poet determines the rhyme scheme. The poetry is meant to be lyrical in nature and I did read many of these poems aloud. Because of the structure, or lack there of, I found it difficult at times to follow along with some poems. Others resonated loud and clear and were felt in my bones. A few that I particularly enjoyed were Sonetas 263, 266, 272, 277, 281, 313, 350. There were also poems that felt lyrical in nature until I would hit a single word and it would immediately create a jarring interruption in the flow. Given the fairly loose parameters of what is considered a soneta, it was difficult at times to adapt to the sentence structure being out of order or incomplete.
For people unfamiliar with the topics presented in the poems, the poet provides wonderful end notes for each poem to provide context and information.
The art in the book is also absolutely stunning and should not be overlooked.
While the topics ran parallel to my own interests and social beliefs, the style made it difficult for me to remain engaged.
While not for me, this may be for others, thus rating seems unfair. As a result I place myself squarely middle of the road.

Manifest Destiny is an unflinching and critical look at America's history through a black lens that is evocative and transcendent.

Olatinpo is steadily becoming one of my favorite poets. I find his poetry to be accessible, discarding flowery prose for the "soneta" that is direct and flows with a strong rhythmic beat. Split into four parts, Manifest Destiny, embarks on 250 years of history in a matter of 1 minute sonetas that offers a deeply holistic introspective into colonization, black liberation, white supremacy, and abolition.

Due to its well researched historical references, Manifest Destiny will be a great addition to our collective literary study. We will read Olatinpo's work for decades to come, finding new and old meaning to his words that are a mirror to our country's existence, and all the scorching truths that come with it.

If there is only one poetry book you read this year, let it be this one.

The soneta is a poetic form created by Olatinpo (the author). It is inspired by sonnets, the sonata, and West African oral traditions, and is made up of six lines with no more than ten words each. Using sonetas, Olatinpo explores topics such as race, war, politics, religion, but also love, and what being a poet means. He goes deep, deeper than you would assume a poem with only six lines would go.

As someone who does not read much poetry, I found the poems captivating, and it was interesting to see what one could do with poems. I found the poems full of fire, a rallying cry for the oppressed. The book also contains extensive notes to explain references made in the poems, which were very helpful for me and helped me understand the areas where I was not as knowledgeable (for example quotes from the Bible).

If I had to name a weakness, I would say that Women’s Rights and LGBT+ Rights could have featured more, especially since the book deals with so many other current issues. Not a fault of the book, per se, just something I noticed.

This poetry collection would be enjoyable to most who are against the war in Palestine, support Black Lives Matter, or value Human Rights. As well as anyone interested in new poetry forms.

I received a free digital ARC copy of this book for reviewing from TogetherInWitness via Netgalley, which I am very thankful for. However, my review is based on my honest opinions.

I was deeply moved. The poems are accessible yet layered, with end notes that offer powerful insight into the author’s perspective and intent. The themes of social justice are woven throughout in a way that feels both urgent and personal, inviting the reader to reflect more deeply on the world around them.

One aspect that made this collection especially meaningful for me is that my husband was born and raised in Nigeria, and it was incredibly moving to see elements of his culture reflected in the author’s work. It added another level of connection and appreciation as I read.

First, thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the advance read. It was surely appreciated. I was attracted to the book by its title (I love history!) and book cover.

So poetry is not my thing, but this collection of thematic sonnets, or sonetas, is my thing. Nigerian-American poet Olatinpo uses his sonetas to fuse traditional Western sonnets and West African rhythms and cadences to create a new beat to these poems. And the poems hit hard - they are direct and brutal and cut deep, at times deeply rooted in history, and at other times deeply rooted in the personal or the sacred. I especially appreciated that after the thematic sections, the author provides narrative footnotes for the various ideas, peoples, places, events that he references. I went down a few rabbit holes, such as the Church Committee Investigations into the US sanctioned killing of Congolese leader Lamumba in the 1960s, and recalled many a frustrating episode from the more recent past, such as the Clarence-Thomas and Anita Hill hearings. The current genocide of Palestinians by Israel, supported by the U.S., makes for harrowing poetry. Interwoven between the collection's parts are color illustrations, immediate and bold in their reds and blacks.

This is not a poetry collection I will forget. And, I hope, this is a poet that has a lot more to say.

I remember learning about Pelumi Olatinpo and his new form of poetry known as the soneta a few years ago. It was wonderful to experience Olatinpo's work in his newest publication. These sonetas speak to the state of today's world. It brings a different language to the suffering. It does not hold back from calling out apathy, inequities, and ignorance. The endnotes for each book of poetry offers further insight into Olatinpo's process. I really appreciated that. I don't remember reading a book of poetry where we get to see the why behind every poem. Wonderful book.

5 ⭐️

I’ll say it once again, I’m a huge fan of poetry and I read and review collections as often as I can. But this one is different!

I can’t tell you how happy I am to have picked up this ebook. A powerful, chill-inducing, educational and emotional collection of Sonetas that take you on a journey to view the world through a perspective that needs to be seen.

Set up in four “books”, with endnotes giving the history about each and every sonata so there is room for understand and learning, this poetry is completely accessible to all readers. IWith hard hitting themes like slavery, modern racism, the war on Gaza, forgotten (or erased) history of minority stories, etc, I think this read is essential (though very heavy).

This poetry is unlike a lot of modern poetry I’ve read recently. It feels old and practiced yet fresh and brand new. It’s the kind of writing elicits visceral emotions, captures your attention and leaves you think long after. Not only the poetry itself but the endnotes and all that those contain were so well researched and thought out.

This came at the perfect time in my life, a time where it felt like all my shame, anger and pain I feel towards the current political climate felt like it was falling into a void. This validated, showed me beyond my own sight, and made me think.

I highly recommend this collection!

Like most poetry collections Manifest Destiny is a mixed bag of some poems I would like to remember and others that will fade quickly from memory. What makes this collection stand out is the inclusion of end notes that highlight the inspirations and parallels explored in these rigidly structured poems. I also enjoyed the bold block print artwork that delineated each section.

I'm not usually a poetry person so I'm not sure my review can do this book justice. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The subject matter of the poems was easy to understand but the end notes added substantial depth and insight into the author's thoughts. The social justice themes are very strongly woven throughout the book. I think it can bring further awareness to issues and also prompt introspection on the part of the reader. I also thoroughly enjoyed his interpretation of Scripture and how he tied it to current social justice issues. Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.