Grocery Shopping with My Mother, Kevin Powell
Grocery Shopping with My Mother, Kevin Powell
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Grocery Shopping with My Mother
Poems

Author: Kevin Powell

Narrator: Kevin Powell

Unabridged: 1 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 10/17/2023


Synopsis

When Kevin Powell's elderly mother became ill, he returned home ever week to take her grocery shopping in Jersey City. Walking behind her during those trips, Powell began to hear her voice, stories, and language in a new way—and examined his own healing while praying for hers.

Grocery Shopping with My Mother originated as social media posts about these visits and evolved into a breathtaking collection of thirty-two new poems, crafted like an album, plus four bonus tracks celebrating a great love of wordplay.

Culturally rooted in the literary traditions of Ntozake Shange and Allen Ginsberg, Powell’s poems honor the likes of V (formerly Eve Ensler), bell hooks, and Sidney Poitier.

Grocery Shopping with My Mother dives into the complexities of relationships and contemporary themes with honesty and vulnerability. Creatively and spiritually inspired by Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life, Powell’s poems shift in form and style, from praise chants to reverential
meditations to, most importantly, innovative hope.

About Kevin Powell

Kevin Powell is the author of thirteen books, including his autobiography, The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy’s Journey into Manhood. He lives with his wife Jinah Parker, the dancer, choreographer, and playwright, in Brooklyn, New York.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tina on December 05, 2022

I really enjoyed GROCERY SHOPPING WITH MY MOTHER by Kevin Powell! These poems explore relationships, music, forgiveness, and icons such as Sidney Poitier and bell hooks. I loved how this collection is set up like an album with side 1 and side 2 and bonus tracks. In the Poet’s Note, Powell says “poet......more

Goodreads review by emma charlton on August 22, 2023

Not as sure about this one... I really liked the way Powell structured the collection like an album: with side 1, side 2, and four bonus "tracks." Most of the poems themselves felt kind of repetitive and too encompassing. Things like "shorttallfatskinnydamaged bodies" were repeated often (not just a......more

Goodreads review by Andrea on September 17, 2022

Grocery Shopping with My Mother by Kevin Powell is a poignant and vulnerable collection that is born of a son's love for his mother as the two transition into a new phase of life. Presented with a heavy lean toward cultural and iconic references, Powell's voice rings out loud and clear, and one can......more

Goodreads review by Chris on August 07, 2022

Thank you netgalley for this ARC. Honestly its really hard for me to get into alot of poetry but this book was amazing. I loved how vulnerable the author was in sharing these poems and i loved so many of the poems regarding people from history past present etc. I LOVED the cicely tyson one alot. The......more

Goodreads review by Mia Guzzo on August 05, 2022

Kevin Powell's collection of poetry Grocery Shopping with My Mother marks the influential moments in his life, taking the reader through his family, his trauma, his loves, and the influences that made him who he is. Powell's writing truly stuck with me because of how personal it all was in unique way......more