The Drowning Boy's Guide to Water

by Cameron Barnett

Winner of the Rising Writer Contest (2017)

Cameron Barnett's poetry collection, The Drowning Boy's Guide to Water (winner of the 2017 Rising Writer Contest), explores the complexity of race and the body for a black man in today's America.

Genres: Poetry

95 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2017

Reviews

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

First things first: Cameron is one of my favorite human beings. We lived together for several years in grad school, during which I got to hear drafts of some of these poems. He taught me a lot. Not all of it was about writing.

So I may be biased. But I am also a voracious reader and writer, and I know what I’m talking about when I say that this book is remarkable.

Cameron writes poetry the way some people compose music, and his lines - concise, rich, movingly ambiguous - lodge themselves in your brain in ways that never do shake loose. He’s funny in one breath, devastating in another, a friendly interrogator who implicates us all - himself too. And what might be sentimental in lesser hands is sweet and sharp in his.

It’s difficult to write a review that gets at even part of how I feel about TDBGTW. Turns out words are hard, Cam. There’s a line in one of the later poems, “Solemn Pittsburgh Aubade,” that I love: “My heart is a museum where all the exhibits/are closed.” Well. Thank God we got in anyway. Thank God for that.

[Gerry LaFemina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cameron Barnett's debut collection of poems is a very strong book of poems, though, as in many first collections, the poems can be a bit self conscious about their subject matter, at times. Still, the poems often surprise and delight, and Barnett doesn't flinch from facing the subjects that matter.

[Ace Boggess · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poems in this collection are lyrical and yet meditative. They start off soft-spoken and musing, but turn into shouts that thrive in the open air. Many take aim at the roles of self vs. society, while their narrators discuss cultural themes, including race both in the overall sense and the deeply personal as in the opening to "Nonbinding Legislation, or a Resolution":

"Whereas I'm as proud to be black as a tree is
to be made of wood. I've been black so long
I don't know what pride is anymore. I was told
it was a bad thing--I was told I should give it up
to the wind."

Or these lines from "Fresh Prince," which is one of my favorites:

"back-talking, articulate bookworminess, late-night poetry
writing stanza after stanza, asking Do I really know
myself? like the page was a mirror and the reflection

you began to see was Carlton...."

This is a remarkable book. The poems are insightful and honest, but also flowing and ornate. It's easy to connect with all of them. I recommend Barnett's collection highly.

[lauren hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

not sure how i didn’t already have this logged in my goodreads, but cameron barnett is one of the greatest poets i’ve ever read & i love getting to work with him!!!!!!

[Timons Esaias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cameron Barnett is local, so I'd heard him read short sets in the past, but I missed the original rollout for this volume. The rollout for Murmur got my attention, so I had the opportunity to hear a full-length reading at the Carnegie Lecture Hall (love the hall, hate the seats, relic of the past though they are) and the result was my purchase of both books.

And yes, this volume clearly deserved the hype, the notice, the awards attention. While some of it is screened by metaphor from actual clarity, the poems have quite a range, and are heavily involved with the tensions of self-definition, the tensions of being projected upon, the tensions of moving among freighted meanings.

My favorites in this collection (if you can call something that stings a favorite) include the title poem and the horrific "Muriatic." But I especially admire the piece that I call a mixed or semiprose poem at the end: "Notes on Cameron Barnett"

I would put this on any Who You Should Be Reading Now list.

[Sanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you scream when no one cares?

Beautiful

[Amie Whittemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly, deeply enjoyed my pressmate's fabulous debut, which I should have read years ago! I appreciate the honesty of these poems as they navigate questions of race and identity through poems that weave between narrative and lyrical modes, each one finely attuned to form. There's a sense of play and empathy even as the poems contemplate injustices and grief. These poems are deeply, wonderfully humany.

[Rosemary Hummel · Rating 3 out of 5]

In The Drowning Boy's Guide to Water, Cameron Barnett presents the narrative of a boy uncovering truths about himself, his people, and his country. The reader confronts the reality that no matter when and where and among whom he is living in America, a black boy is compelled to shoulder the burdens of black history. Barnett's masterful poems combine deft poetic devices with historical and scientific facts, unique perspective, and heartfelt introspection.

This collection is both tender and devastating. Often, loving reflections on the natural world twist suddenly to expose the consequences of pernicious human behaviours. The image of an octopus manoeuvring through dangerous waters with grace and cunning becomes one of a thoughtful, desperate boy pushed up against a wall, willing his skin to turn the color of the bricks. Peacefully sleeping fallen trees become a cemetery of the unburied dead. Half way through the book it becomes impossible not to notice a disturbing trend - a distressing body count that continues to rise.

Although Barnett confronts racism and its destructive effects with fearless erudition and the certainty that comes from experience, his poems are not a vehicle for hate or a call for blind conflict. Instead, this book is a sombre but artful reminder to remember the past and acknowledge the present. I recommend this book for poetry lovers, and for those who are new to poetry as well. -RH

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit that I don't much care for poetry. This other seems to write poems with strong opinions. Many of these poems seem to be about race. I think these poems have some strong subject matter for this author's debut. Well edited. Short read.

[Bailey Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cam, you’re a genius as always. These poems are beautiful.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The poems were really good and I love the different ideas, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Still a good read though!