Published September 2026 via Central Avenue Poetry
★★★★
it's not easy being told you are incomplete because you are uncovered / or being told you are dangerous because you are covered (37*)
A thoughtful collection about faith and discrimination and love, whatever love means. I am fairly specific about the poetry I read—I am no expert (there is a reason I steered clear of the poetry department during my MFA), but I know what I like, and the things that I like include solid themes (though that's not strictly necessary) and crisp imagery, and The Pomegranate Is a Grenade (hello, that title!) has both.
In another language grenada is pomegranate / The pomegranate is a grenade. / The grenade breaks a mother's hands open / Tears two hearts apart from one another / Forces the release of thick red skin (73)
This made for a decent but imperfect fit for me. Thematically, it's very on point; I like reading about religion, and a number of the things Hashwi discusses are unfortunately very topical right now (read: discrimination and just general ignorance). I do love the titular poem, and there's one that compares prayer to (sometimes!) phone calls with distant relatives that made me think quite a bit. The language is often simpler than I prefer, though; I tend to lean towards...lines that read less like sentences, I suppose, and that do more with wordplay.
3.5 stars; still worth the read, but I'm not sure how many of the poems will still be with me in a month or two.
*Quote are from an ARC and may not be final.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
