How to Survive the Apocalypse

by Jacqueline Trimble

"How to Survive the Apocalypse", the second collection from poet Jacqueline Allen Trimble, examines the many apocalypses that African Americans have weathered, advising that those who wish to avoid annihilation should “live by rage and joy and turpentine.” Trimble reimagines the sonnet and the parable, producing poems of ironic indictment and joyous celebration. The book explores aspects of the Black experience in America, from Black woman pride, Nat Turner, kneeling, and the burning down of fast-food restaurants. Sometimes funny, sometimes biting, "How to Survive the Apocalypse" connects history to the contemporary and in the writing proves that the only balm for rage is creativity.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2022

Reviews

[Sydney Camille]

This collection was more than surprising! I picked it up at a writing symposium and I do not regret my decision. Trimble knows how to grab your attention and make it shake. She writes the uncomfortable and gut wrenching with something you might call sass… a better word is probably audacity. Her beautiful conversations around blackness in the south make you stop and think about how you look at the world around you, especially if you live in the south. Notable poems for me were “What if the Supreme Court were really the Supremes” and “ The census man wants to know.” Trimble is an inspiration to me and a great poet to study when looking at what a distinctive voice looks like in writing.

[mixedreader]

In the preface to this collection, Trimble writes: “Nothing in that bible has ever been as scary as what I have already survived, what my people have already survived again and again with only the imagined heaven of spirituals in sight.” How to Survive the Apocalypse embodies this sentiment with the push/pull between poems that confront the harsh realities of history and poems that celebrate strength and tenacity of Black women. Trimble examines and triumphs the everyday people, including her own ancestors, who toiled through life with only the reward of survival. She doesn’t forget to hold up moments of joy, but is quick to snap the reader back to theme of the world ending is not new—to her, to Black people, to even humanity. The endurance of spirit, (as well as the endurance of violence, sorrow, and work), is the real heart of this collection. By the end of the collection, Trimble challenges the reader to live authentically, boldly, and in recognition of all that has happen to get them there.

[Katherine Perry]

Jacqueline Allen Trimble’s second collection is built, brick by brick, with gorgeous language, powerful metaphors, and an sharp awareness of American history. Her poems are beautifully musical and full of nuance. Read this one!

[Ramona]

Trimble is one of my favorite living poets. This second collection does not disappoint. Highly recommended!

[Catherine Miele]

A wonderful collection from Alabama’s Poet Laureate.

Unapologetic. Biting. Funny, on occasion. And a beautiful collection from a southern Black woman and the history from which she emerged.