DEVOURED is an exploration of the pleasure and the pain that can only come from love. This book was written for all the souls who wander with shattered hearts.
Let yourself hurt, shiver, breathe, and love. Let yourself be DEVOURED.
Sunshine's seductive and provocative use of language blends influences from poets Rupi Kaur, Neil Hilborn, Lang Leav, and Ocean Vuong with the classics Sylvia Plath, Bukowski, Poe, Dickinson and Keats. Whether you are a fan of modern or classical poetry, or you're just beginning your poetic journey - this raw, intimate collection of verse will satisfy your craving.
B.B. Sunshine's writings and art have appeared in USA Today, MISC, Studio Visit Magazine, Bete Noir, The Adroit Journal, and The Anthologist. Sunshine is also the recipient of a Vermont Studio Center grant for Poetry.
Devoured is an apt title. It’s raw, for sure. Some people are forced to confront raw prose, which is what makes it so powerful. Others, however, are inclined to flee it. I am definitely in the latter group but I do enjoy the power of literary imagery and this collection of poems is full of it. It is an imagery of extremes but it is in texture that much of the most powerful art resides.
This is a book of love but it is a love that can be both idolatrous and self-loathing. If you get that, this author will strike you as very authentic, and, I suspect, he is. He is irreverent and irreverence can be powerfully stimulating and at times just irreverent. This collection is a bit of both.
While the edges are a bit sharp for my personal taste, there is a softer truth here as well. “Snow snuck into our lives/winter hid all the places/we found ourselves…Tongues were held/gradually/more than hands.” Words shaped by talent, for sure. Simple, provocative, and filled with a mixture of grit and longing we have all known.
There is a recurring theme to the author’s work and his self-reflection. “I’m always either ablaze with passion or frigid as a corpse. But once that fire is lit, I keep chasing it madly until it goes out completely. Until everything goes dark and cold again. It’s my nature. And it always will be.”
I’m not so sure. My sense, and it is entirely my own, is that this artist will find a more muted but even deeper insight as time goes on. He clearly has the tools to express it. I will be anxious to see what life brings his way. I certainly hope he continues to share his journey.
I do feel compelled to note my general displeasure in having to give works of artistry a singe 1-5 star rating. This book, I suspect, will have an abundance of both one and five star ratings, as this is an author who takes no prisoners. Take my rating in that context. It’s a quick read, and worth your time, but you may find you can’t put it down quick enough. It’s personal. What more can we ask of our authors?
I read this book as a member of the Kindle Unlimited program. I did not get an advance copy and had never heard of the author before reading this work.