Poetry Review: Be Brave - J.M Farkas

When I was asked to review Be Brave, I actually thought it was pretty funny. Not because of the content of the book or anything. That is what sounded the best. However, this book is based on the blacked out work of the classic Beowulf.

In high school, I hated Beowulf. It was a required summer reading book and it was the worst. It was so hard to read and it was just terrible, okay? Take my word for it. Unless you liked Beowulf, then go you! 😊

You may be asking what blackout poetry is. You’re not? Well then move onto the review, but I’ll let those who don’t know in on it. Blackout poetry is taking works that already exist and blacking out the text until a few words or phrases remain to form a statement. This is my first blackout poetry book, but I know it won’t be my last!

Be Brave: An Unlikely Manual for Erasing Heartbreak

Author: J.M. Farkas

Genre: Poetry

Publication Date: April 3, 2018

My Rating: 4 pens!

Goodreads Synopsis: Be Brave is the first in a series of erasures in which author JM Farkas puts a feminist, revisionist spin on classic literature. Permanent marker, meet Beowulf.
A former high school English teacher, Farkas transforms Beowulf into an unlikely guide for the brokenhearted that is both irreverent and moving. Anyone who has been devastated by love will appreciate the blackened pages of this bold, youthful, and empowering twist on the ancient epic.

Topics and Triggers: blackout poetry, heartbreak, empowerment, inspiring

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I received a copy of Be Brave from J.M Farkas’ representative in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

As I mentioned above, the style is blackout poetry. It is a lot of fun seeing the words chosen as part of the poems and with the page being mostly black, it was something different. There are a few time where the highlighted words seemed out of place. Though, this is probably because of using the text from Beowulf.

I found the book to be an uplifting and empowering collection of words. It definitely makes me feel like I can do anything I set my mind to. Which I’m pretty sure, most can relate to.

I’m not sure how to judge this one, honestly. None of the words are the author’s own. And the text is from a very old play. So I don’t feel like there was that much emotion in the book. However, in the end, the author writes a beautiful tribute to her grandmother and her journey for this book and it is inspiring and beautiful.

Being that many of the pages overlapped to tell a story, I don’t have any top favorites like I usually do. 😔

Be Brave is an uplifting blackout poetry collection. Each page brought out a powerful message that all flowed together into one. Now, there were a few weird spots, but that’s probably just because of using text from Beowulf is hard. I think it’s well done and has made me a fan of blackout poetry.

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