Book Review; The Poetry of Strangers

The Poetry of Strangers

What I Learned Traveling America with a Typewriter

by Brian Sonia-Wallace

 HarperCollins Publishers 

Harper Perennial

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  History 

Pub Date 30 Jun 2020

I am reviewing a copy of The Poetry of Strangers through HarperCollins and Netgalley:

Before he was an award wining Author and Poet, Brian Sonia-Wallace decided to set up a typewriter on the street with a sign that read Poetry Store.  In doing so he found something that surprised him, all over America, people wanted poems.  At first Brian was an Amateur Busker who asked countless strangers what they wanted a poem about, and to his surprised many of  these people opened up to share their deepest longings, yearnings, love, and heartbreaks.    Hundreds then thousands of people around the nation from every walk of life became converts.

The Poetry of Strangers is the story of Brian’s cross country journey, through a series of his heartfelt and thought provoking essays, chronicling the journey.  In his travels Brian learned that people were not afraid of poetry, when it came to telling their stories.  

The story of Brian’s Journey comes at a time of unprecedented loneliness and isolation, and shows how art can be a vital bridge to community in surprising places.

The Poetry of Strangers is a thought provoking idea.  This book is an unforgettable portrait of America told through the hidden longings of one person at a time, by one of our most important voices today. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who needs to be reminded just what a gift poetry can be.  

I give The Poetry of Strangers five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!