Teeming with humanity, vulnerability and pain.
“Let us sit within time, grasping for cosmos with fingers of clay.” Stunning lines like this flow from the page with elegance and beauty. Swiftly, such graceful composition is challenged with more hard-hitting expressions. “Deep cuts and cigarette burns kept me plunging deeper into my depression.” This collection of poetry proves that splendor is sometimes born of grief. Break showcases the despair of mental illness told in two dramatic sections. Although there is a measure of growth throughout the book, there is no rainbows-and-butterflies ending.
Reading from Adam Levon Brown is an exercise in contrasts. I appreciate his effort at recalling the good from a tumultuous childhood. Those rays of positivity wind their way into several verses. The overall feel of the collection, however, is appropriately dark. There are many painfully honest moments that bring readers to the brink of tears. The juxtaposition of expected behaviors collide with the startling realities of living with mental illness. It is both uncomfortable and moving.
Break is the confluence of creativity and art. It is teeming with humanity, vulnerability and pain, truly a must read!
