What do you think?
Rate this book
The Place of Broken Things
Bram Stoker Award® winners Linda D. Addison and Alessandro Manzetti use their unique voices to create a dark, surrealistic poetry collection exploring the many ways shattered bodies, minds, and souls endure.
They created poems of visionary imagery encompassing death, gods, goddesses and shadowy, Kafkaesque futures by inspiring each other, along with inspiration from others (Allen Ginsberg, Pablo Neruda, Phillis Wheatley, etc.).
Construction of The Place started with the first bitten apple dropped in the Garden. The foundation defined by the crushed, forgotten, and rejected. Filled with timeless space, its walls weep with the blood of brutality, the tears of the innocent, and predatory desire. Enter and let it whisper dark secrets to you.
They created poems of visionary imagery encompassing death, gods, goddesses and shadowy, Kafkaesque futures by inspiring each other, along with inspiration from others (Allen Ginsberg, Pablo Neruda, Phillis Wheatley, etc.).
Construction of The Place started with the first bitten apple dropped in the Garden. The foundation defined by the crushed, forgotten, and rejected. Filled with timeless space, its walls weep with the blood of brutality, the tears of the innocent, and predatory desire. Enter and let it whisper dark secrets to you.
90 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 19, 2019
7 people are currently reading
286 people want to read
About the author
Linda D. Addison
72 books58 followersLinda D. Addison was born in Philadelphia in 1952. She is the oldest of nine children and received a bachelor of science in mathematics from Carnegie-Mellon University. She is the author of three collections: “Being Full of Light, Insubstantial”, “Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey Ashes” and “Animated Objects” (Space & Time Books). Her work has also appeared in numerous publications, including Essence magazine, Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine and Doorways magazine,.
In 2001, Addison was the first African-American to win the HWA's Bram Stoker Award for superior achievement in poetry for “Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey Ashes”. Other prominent recipients of this distinguished award include authors, Alice Sebold (Lovely Bones) and J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Series).
She was honored with her second Bram Stoker Award for her third collection of poems titled “Being Full of Light, Insubstantial” (Space & Time Books).
She is the only author with fiction in three landmark anthologies that celebrate African-Americans speculative writers: the award-winning anthology Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction (Warner Aspect), Dark Dreams (Kensington), and Dark Thirst (Pocket Book).
Her work has made frequent appearances over the years on the honorable mention list for Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and Year’s Best Science-Fiction.
In 2001, Addison was the first African-American to win the HWA's Bram Stoker Award for superior achievement in poetry for “Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey Ashes”. Other prominent recipients of this distinguished award include authors, Alice Sebold (Lovely Bones) and J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Series).
She was honored with her second Bram Stoker Award for her third collection of poems titled “Being Full of Light, Insubstantial” (Space & Time Books).
She is the only author with fiction in three landmark anthologies that celebrate African-Americans speculative writers: the award-winning anthology Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction (Warner Aspect), Dark Dreams (Kensington), and Dark Thirst (Pocket Book).
Her work has made frequent appearances over the years on the honorable mention list for Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and Year’s Best Science-Fiction.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 26, 2021
4.5 Stars~
The guts are just as glorious as the cover of The Place of Broken Thing, this I promise you! It's filled with darkness & suffering; love & loss; the delightfully macabre & exquisite beauty that will claw at your insides, causing a flood of emotions.
The guts are just as glorious as the cover of The Place of Broken Thing, this I promise you! It's filled with darkness & suffering; love & loss; the delightfully macabre & exquisite beauty that will claw at your insides, causing a flood of emotions.
July 30, 2019
Exquisitely dark, beautifully poignant and compelling poetry from the superb talents of Linda D Addison and Alessandro Manzetti, this collection is in turn deep, moving, and always driven by their skills at capturing the glimpses into the soul's darkest moments. I loved this book, which I received an ARC in return for my honest review, and it has lingered with me. I find myself going back to it again and again, it's a starkly beautiful and often painfully honest insight into the places we never want to go to, but are drawn there through the quirks of Fate and the desperate losses that stitch together this tapestry of beautiful writing. I am sure that I will re-visit this tormented and eloquent collection over and over.
Stunning work as ever from the darkest depths of Crystal Lake Publishing, this one is already a favourite, and will remain that way forever - it's just so good, far too good to miss. Go on, treat yourself to something exquisitely different and hauntingly beautiful.
Stunning work as ever from the darkest depths of Crystal Lake Publishing, this one is already a favourite, and will remain that way forever - it's just so good, far too good to miss. Go on, treat yourself to something exquisitely different and hauntingly beautiful.
August 8, 2019
The Place of Broken Things is a dark delight of a collection. I was particularly impressed by the poems Addison and Manzetti wrote together -- they flawlessly play off each other's tone and language to create stand-out pieces like "While the Rooftops Became Red" and "The Dead Dancer." Each piece embraces flavorful language that sticks on your tongue as you read along and digest the poems. Highly recommend this collection to all fans of darkness and the macabre!
September 28, 2020
Horror piqued my interest.
Indie publisher got my attention.
Poetry... Ehhhh we'll see.
I did really enjoy this book, as much as I enjoy any poetry (which is to say, more in an intellectual way than as entertainment). The vague creepiness and foreboding made me want to sit and pick each poem apart for subtle meaning and deeper thrills. They were NOT easy reads. You really need to focus and draw a picture in your mind to pick up on what is happening, but that is to be expected with any good poetry.
Indie publisher got my attention.
Poetry... Ehhhh we'll see.
I did really enjoy this book, as much as I enjoy any poetry (which is to say, more in an intellectual way than as entertainment). The vague creepiness and foreboding made me want to sit and pick each poem apart for subtle meaning and deeper thrills. They were NOT easy reads. You really need to focus and draw a picture in your mind to pick up on what is happening, but that is to be expected with any good poetry.
January 16, 2020
There is something strange about literary collaborations. Asking two writers to come together and work on something when the rest of the time they are working alone always struck me as odd. Perhaps this is why amazing collaborations are rare. Linda D. Addison and Alessandro Manzetti’s The Place of Broken Things belongs to the small group of books that make a collaboration shine.
You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
October 12, 2021
The Place of Broken Things is a collection of dark poetry from Linda D Addison and Alessandro Manzetti, both Bram Stoker Award winners. I have read Manzetti before, in his No Mercy Collection (also from Crystal Lake Publishing) and was looking forward to his latest offering as he has become a favourite ‘new discovery’ to me. I have not read any of Addison’s work so was curious as to how this collaboration would pan out; as it turned out, the poets complement each other very well.
The first poem, The Dead Dancer, is the standout piece. Written by both it chronicles the life of a dancer, who, though once free, has become no more than a puppet, dancing to a tune over which she has no control. Her surroundings decay over time, become a death house and the dancer is trapped on ‘the wheel going nowhere’, is like the moth trapped in a jar. The weaving in and out of musical notation and funereal metaphors ties the reader to the page, traps them in this bleak world as much as the dancer.
Another favourite is A Clockwork Lemon Resucked in which the death of creativity and thereby the removal of the possibility of the contamination of others with ideas, is explored. Destroying the poets, those who dream, leaves the world cold, unfeeling and grey. It is a warning.
I couldn’t read Mardi Gras without thinking of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ song She’s a Carnival. And even if the poet didn’t have this track in mind, music weaves its way through the lines of many of the poems, whether in imagery or by explicit reference.
There are 35 poems in this collection, tales of the homeless, of despair, loss and suffering, of fallen angels and distorted religions. These are poems which demand your attention, will not be satisfied with one reading but insist they be devoured. These are words to be savoured.
The first poem, The Dead Dancer, is the standout piece. Written by both it chronicles the life of a dancer, who, though once free, has become no more than a puppet, dancing to a tune over which she has no control. Her surroundings decay over time, become a death house and the dancer is trapped on ‘the wheel going nowhere’, is like the moth trapped in a jar. The weaving in and out of musical notation and funereal metaphors ties the reader to the page, traps them in this bleak world as much as the dancer.
Another favourite is A Clockwork Lemon Resucked in which the death of creativity and thereby the removal of the possibility of the contamination of others with ideas, is explored. Destroying the poets, those who dream, leaves the world cold, unfeeling and grey. It is a warning.
I couldn’t read Mardi Gras without thinking of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ song She’s a Carnival. And even if the poet didn’t have this track in mind, music weaves its way through the lines of many of the poems, whether in imagery or by explicit reference.
There are 35 poems in this collection, tales of the homeless, of despair, loss and suffering, of fallen angels and distorted religions. These are poems which demand your attention, will not be satisfied with one reading but insist they be devoured. These are words to be savoured.
March 18, 2020
I read this for the Read Harder 2020 challenge-a horror book published by an indie press. I didn’t expect to enjoy this challenge but this horror poetry collection fits the challenge and was really great to read. The dark and gloomy imagery of the pines in this collection suited my mood (the anxiety I am feeling over my future and over the ongoing Coronavirus crisis). I loved the poems they wrote together as they played off each others’ style.
March 23, 2020
I have no idea how to pick how many stars to give this in terms of how much I liked it because some of it was so so weird but some of the poetry was absolutely phenomenal. So yeah. Horror poetry. Hurray for book challenges that help me go outside of my comfort zone.
October 12, 2019
A Reminder...
I don't often read poetry. Perhaps that's why my first thought after finishing this book was that poetry is more than words cleverly arranged to rhyme. A fine reminder that there are other ways to tell a story.
I don't often read poetry. Perhaps that's why my first thought after finishing this book was that poetry is more than words cleverly arranged to rhyme. A fine reminder that there are other ways to tell a story.
November 27, 2019
A dark and significant collection by two of the best horror writers in the business. Every line bleeds.
May 30, 2020
I've read and enjoyed some of Addison's work before, but I only got about 6 or 7 poems into THE PLACE OF BROKEN THINGS when I knew that this one would be a DNF for me.
A challenge with speculative poetry is that what would otherwise be metaphorical in literary work can be literal in the fantastic, making it hard to distinguish extended allegory from actual concrete imagery or narrative. For me, this was my main problem with the sample of the book that I read; I had so much uncertainty over what was actually happening in each poem vs. what was meant to be descriptive passages of some personal emotive state that I was too distracted by my lack of orientation (objective reality? subjective feeling?) to engage emotionally with the text.
Readers who prefer a high level of ambiguity in their poetry, are happy to linger over lines for several minutes while pondering different possible meanings, are fond of surrealism, or enjoy the raw creativity of unusual combinations of words crashing together (and to be sure, there is a lot of energy in the poems--I just can't tell toward what cohesive purpose) may be satisfied by this volume, but as a reader who is not a big fan of poetry in general and who tends to enjoy narrative poetry when he reads it at all, this book was just not my jam.
A challenge with speculative poetry is that what would otherwise be metaphorical in literary work can be literal in the fantastic, making it hard to distinguish extended allegory from actual concrete imagery or narrative. For me, this was my main problem with the sample of the book that I read; I had so much uncertainty over what was actually happening in each poem vs. what was meant to be descriptive passages of some personal emotive state that I was too distracted by my lack of orientation (objective reality? subjective feeling?) to engage emotionally with the text.
Readers who prefer a high level of ambiguity in their poetry, are happy to linger over lines for several minutes while pondering different possible meanings, are fond of surrealism, or enjoy the raw creativity of unusual combinations of words crashing together (and to be sure, there is a lot of energy in the poems--I just can't tell toward what cohesive purpose) may be satisfied by this volume, but as a reader who is not a big fan of poetry in general and who tends to enjoy narrative poetry when he reads it at all, this book was just not my jam.
August 16, 2020
It's always interesting when reading a book with two authors - I'm continually trying to see where the style of one meets the other. That's something which is somewhat easier here, as some of the poems are by Addison, and some are by Manzetti, and some are by both of them together. As a whole, the collection is heavily influenced by other artists - composers and painters and writers - so there's that stylistic layer as well, especially considering that some of the poems are inspired by other works, or are responses to them. An example would be one of my favourites, "When You Forget Me," by Addison, which a little note says was inspired by Neruda's "If You Forget Me." On balance, I think I prefer Addison's contributions. Although there's some blurring, her poems tend to use the plainer language and that appeals to me more. By far the best poem here, though, is a collaboration. "The Yellow House" folds in Vincent Van Gogh and his artwork. I do enjoy Van Gogh, and so bouncing between the imagery of the poem and the recollection of the painting gave this an extra level of interest.
On a different note, while I love the cover for this collection, the font used for the poem titles could be quite difficult for me to read. When it comes to font, as far as I'm concerned it's the plainer the better.
On a different note, while I love the cover for this collection, the font used for the poem titles could be quite difficult for me to read. When it comes to font, as far as I'm concerned it's the plainer the better.
March 30, 2020
The title of this poetry collection is telling -- verses of those who feel downtrodden, depressed, disillusioned, hopeless, and marginalized. Macabre, ghostly, and shadowed, the tone of the collection is ever dark. The pages very well could come with a trickle of blood. Yet, it is surprisingly accessible by poetic standards, which helps someone like me who only reads the genre on occasion. I did make the effort to Google the subjects paid homage to in various poems, and would recommend that to other readers. It helps make the context clearer.
Several themes are explored thoughout. I relate most with the depressive, spiral-minded ones that put to question if salvation is achievable. There is a pervading sense of burnout and loss of the creative spirit in the face of technological, cutthroat capitalism. Nature has been tainted by a humanity who has orphaned it. Reductionism and alienation by the corrupting forces of religion are also recurrent. Several trigger warning come along with this title: self harm, suicidal ideation, abuse, both sexual and physical.
I'm not the most knowledgeable about poetry, but the bottom line is that I enjoyed this collection and could easily relate to it. It isn't impossible to read and is profound and tantilizingly dark.
Several themes are explored thoughout. I relate most with the depressive, spiral-minded ones that put to question if salvation is achievable. There is a pervading sense of burnout and loss of the creative spirit in the face of technological, cutthroat capitalism. Nature has been tainted by a humanity who has orphaned it. Reductionism and alienation by the corrupting forces of religion are also recurrent. Several trigger warning come along with this title: self harm, suicidal ideation, abuse, both sexual and physical.
I'm not the most knowledgeable about poetry, but the bottom line is that I enjoyed this collection and could easily relate to it. It isn't impossible to read and is profound and tantilizingly dark.
November 19, 2020
Horror isn't my thing.
At all.
But a reading challenge prompt was to read a horror story from an indie publisher.
I wanted to complete the prompt but really didn't want to commit to an entire book of horror.
And then I discovered this book of poems.
Apparently my mind doesn't fixate on the horror if it's served in quick verse, over and done before the words sink in.
I'm still fearful of it coming back to haunt me in snippets of line at later times, but for now at least, I can say I've finished this prompt.
On a different note, I've taught poetry to students before and we'd do poem studies and then try to write a poem based on the structure or ideas of a much more accomplished poet.
I really enjoyed seeing some of those types of poems here, too.
Maybe one day one of my former students, inspired by a love of words and the ways of telling stories through poetry, will become their own writers.
At all.
But a reading challenge prompt was to read a horror story from an indie publisher.
I wanted to complete the prompt but really didn't want to commit to an entire book of horror.
And then I discovered this book of poems.
Apparently my mind doesn't fixate on the horror if it's served in quick verse, over and done before the words sink in.
I'm still fearful of it coming back to haunt me in snippets of line at later times, but for now at least, I can say I've finished this prompt.
On a different note, I've taught poetry to students before and we'd do poem studies and then try to write a poem based on the structure or ideas of a much more accomplished poet.
I really enjoyed seeing some of those types of poems here, too.
Maybe one day one of my former students, inspired by a love of words and the ways of telling stories through poetry, will become their own writers.
March 25, 2020
I read this as part of Book Riot's 2020 Read Harder challenge for the category 'Read a horror book published by an indie press.'
I didn't care for this. Some of the poems were excellent, but a lot were utter self-indulgent rubbish. Various ones referenced other poems in the volume, and others outside, and overall it made this book feel like they were trying to gatekeep horror poetry. Coupled with a couple of formatting errors on the Kindle eBook version I read, I just felt like a milked cash cow.
Two stars because the good poems were good, and it'd be unfair to punish them for being situated with less good ones.
I didn't care for this. Some of the poems were excellent, but a lot were utter self-indulgent rubbish. Various ones referenced other poems in the volume, and others outside, and overall it made this book feel like they were trying to gatekeep horror poetry. Coupled with a couple of formatting errors on the Kindle eBook version I read, I just felt like a milked cash cow.
Two stars because the good poems were good, and it'd be unfair to punish them for being situated with less good ones.
November 11, 2025
Though-provoking collection of dark poems
Full disclosure: I'm no poetry critic. I really don't know what the f*%# I'm talking about when it comes to poetry. I just read it, and see if I like it....
I'm glad to have found this... actually, what I found was that the Bram Stoker awards has a category for poetry. So, every year, they have both nominees and winners. Seems to me that list could be a treasure trove of material.
For reading a poem or two or three a day, this is a cool collection. It's dark, for sure. There's a great relationship between poetry and horror. These poems can talk about fears and shames and angers in such a pretty and profound way.
Full disclosure: I'm no poetry critic. I really don't know what the f*%# I'm talking about when it comes to poetry. I just read it, and see if I like it....
I'm glad to have found this... actually, what I found was that the Bram Stoker awards has a category for poetry. So, every year, they have both nominees and winners. Seems to me that list could be a treasure trove of material.
For reading a poem or two or three a day, this is a cool collection. It's dark, for sure. There's a great relationship between poetry and horror. These poems can talk about fears and shames and angers in such a pretty and profound way.
October 14, 2020
I found this book in a search for a horror book published by an indie press, which was a prompt for the 2020 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. I'm not much of a horror person generally, so horror poetry seemed like a good compromise. I honestly loved this creepy yet enchanting collection of poetry. It shares horrific ideas without explicit graphic descriptions. The authors somehow maintained a reflective tone throughout. The Place of Broken Things was a delight.
Read
February 12, 2020I don’t grasp poetry enough to rate it but I found this to be interesting and engage and painted quite a picture.
May 8, 2020
This is dark. You want weird dreams? Because this is how you get weird dreams. Morning/mourning.
June 20, 2022
These didn't really move me.
April 3, 2025
A little mixed bag for me. I just love Linda D. Addison's work, but didn't really vibe with Alessandro Manzetti. Overall, I got the nudge of creativity I was craving from this collection. ♥
April 10, 2020
2020 Read Harder Challenge a horror book published by an Indie press
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews