I read this in one sitting, it was so readable.

Deeply rooted in place and transcending boundaries of gender, sex, love and memory, Benaway conjures up some beautiful imagery. What I perhaps enjoyed about this most was how easy it was to read.

Sometimes, reading a poem feels like a physical act where you're really conscious of what you're doing, deconstructing the text, taking feelings from it, mulling over those feelings... It can be quite the labour, although it is a labour of love. In this case, Passage was just so easy to read I never felt like I was reading poetry as we were made to do in high school, I appreciated this collection a lot.

Her poems never feel too wordy or complex, or too clever.

Benaway is Anishnaabe and Metis and trans so there was so much about self-love, about identity, about learning and unlearning in here, but it never felt like difficult or like work.

This collection flows like water, carving out a place for belonging like water does to a canyon. ( )

I feel weird about reviewing books of poetry on goodreads, because really, I don't know shit about poetry. But Passage by Gwen Benaway is a breathtaking collection, and you should read it. ( )