Adam Levon Brown's Break is not just a raw exploration of mental illness, the poetry brings an awareness to the reader of the suffering and vulnerability of themselves as well as the author, triggering a deep seated round of self-reflection and introspection. An awakening to the reality of the world around us. Adam creates this with his incredibly moving gift of poetry at its soul bearing best.
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[Saltwater has a way / of cleansing small wounds / that amass during / bouts of depression - SALTWATER]***
(Poetic Justice Books & Arts, 9 April 2019, 64 pages, ebook, copy from the poet and voluntarily reviewed)
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It's rare to find poems that touch on mental illness now. I've experienced mental illness myself, in bouts, for most of my life. I write many poems about mental illness and find a strange sort of comfort from reading them. It's good to know I'm not the only one who's felt that way. The poems in Break are raw, personal, unflinching and almost painful to read at times. They are exactly the time of poems I love to read and write, so personal yet universal at the same time. Poems about nature and shit leave me cold. I enjoyed every poem in Break. Hats off to the poet for being so brave.
