HYYPE

23/01/2022

"I get inspired by a lot of items. I love learning. I have an ambitious brain. Multigenerational friendships and collaborations is one of my favorite sources of inspiration. I also love reading and learning about female stories of endurance, strength, survival and such."

Laura Armenta for Issue Eight of Hyype!

📷: Samuel Bushi

18/01/2022

Issue Eight is now live and features interviews, the 2021 Hyypelists, and poetry by West Michigan writers!

https://hyypeonline.com/issue-eight/

Issue Eight features interviews, the 2021 Hyypelists, and poetry by West Michigan writers!

03/01/2021

"mirror in the sky" by high school student Shaun Steverson, featured in Issue Seven of Hyype.

01/01/2021

Issue Seven is live! Thank you to all our contributors!

This issue features an incredible artist, six poets, and the 2020 Hyypelists.

07/09/2020

FINALLY! A BEACH READ FOR WOMEN WHO LOVE WOMEN

"Cantoras" is Carolina De Robertis’s fifth novel and swept me away by page ten. I was expecting a cheesy romance novel about women who just wanted to have a little fun with each other behind their husbands’ backs; what I got instead was a raw, powerful novel with gorgeous prose and salty scenes that examines s*xuality, attraction, and political governing of women’s bodies in a late-twentieth century Uruguyan landscape.

Set during a period of terrifying political oversight and tyranny, the story follows five women (Flaca, La Venus, Malena, Paz, and Romina) as they leave their city for the privacy and sanctuary of a secluded beach, where they can be free to express their not-so-straight s*xualities and talk about the regime without fear of being overheard and turned into the military. The historical significance of this book created a deep admiration and gratitude in me for what so many folks in other countries endure in order to love who they want to love; I’ve never had to experience real persecution for being q***r, and I became acutely aware of that privilege while reading this book.

I loved the characters, even in the midst of flawed decisions and drama. Their allegiance to each other and the ways they continue to care for each other throughout the years, even after messy break-ups, even through secrets and childhood traumas, is incredible and a rare occurence in most of the novels I’ve read. De Robertis is a profound thinker and a skilled writer whose sentences pile into a rush of moment and emotion.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a new perspective or craving realistic, high-quality q***r lit. You’ll find friends in this story and feel their pain and celebrate their joy. You’ll long for a beach hut of your own, where you can swim in the ocean away from the stress-inducing political nightmare we’re living in today. And most importantly, you’ll respect the hell out of folks who live their true selves despite overwhelmingly animosity and the threat of oppression.

https://hyypeonline.com/cantoras/

Cantoras (Knopf, 2020) is Carolina De Robertis’s fifth novel and swept me away by page ten. I was expecting a cheesy romance novel about women who just wanted to have a little fun with each o…

05/02/2020

Congrats!!!

27/01/2020

I finally finished Ada Limón’s INCREDIBLE poetry collection “The Carrying“! It took me far too long to read these gorgeous prose poems because as soon as I started, I wanted to delay finishing it so I could really take my time reading each piece. I spread out the progress over a year and a half and can honestly say I’ve already started re-reading the collection. Ada is a wildly compassionate, gentle poet, and these poems span an array of topics, including loss, birds, road trips, and relationships. And most importantly to me at least, her poems soothe that place that is always aching in our tumultuous, violent world.

I finally finished Ada Limón’s INCREDIBLE poetry collection “The Carrying”! It took me far too long to read these gorgeous prose poems because as soon as I started, I wanted to de…

20/11/2019

And we should all reinforce this to the boys we love!

(via Elise Gravel - English)

04/09/2019

In "Life Finds a Way" (Basic Books), Dr. Andreas Wagner does a fantastic job of explaining complicated scholarly ideas, and in the last section, he applies the principles and thinking he’s detailed to education, immigration, technological advancement, and play, asserting that, more or less, we’re doing it all wrong. Rather than rewarding competition, conformity, and practicality, Dr. Wagner insists that we’ll be a more innovative, kinder world by encouraging mistakes, collaboration, and geographic mobility. His well-argued ideas remind me of Ms. Frizzle’s wise adage: “Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!”

Wide-ranging, knowledge-packed: Dr. Andreas Wagner’s “Life Finds a Way” delves into how everything living has evolved in a time-old ballet of creativity, innovation, and trial-and…

25/08/2019

"Fieldnotes on Ordinary Love" (Copper Canyon Press, 2019) is, in my opinion, very underappreciated. It’s two months old and I’ve not seen a single gushing post, share, or write-up on it, which is a damn shame, as it’s easily in my poetry top five for 2019. Keith S. Wilson’s debut is graceful and gripping, descending into territory of Greek myths, racial tumult, and birds. The highest praise I can offer for "Fieldnotes" is that I want to write like Keith after reading it.

I finished this collection at the beginning of last week and have been revisiting a few specific images from these pages, including this powerful observation in “Augury“: “I remember being told I should never touch / a baby bird in its nest. That afterward, // the mother would rather let her children starve. / It isn’t true. But how many eggs // has the fantasy kept safe, / how many feathers made elegant, my hands clean and far away / to fold snowflakes or cranes?” Keith’s poems unearth small, succulent truths and set them rolling inside my heart.

Keith S. Wilson’s “Fieldnotes on Ordinary Love” (Copper Canyon Press) hovers over big questions like “what is the rest of me but a daydream / of angles?” and “ho…

19/08/2019

"Library of Small Catastrophes" (Copper Canyon Press, 2019) penetrates mysteries, unveiling understanding, experience, and advice for readers of all backgrounds and cultural identities. This collection demonstrates Alison Rollins' mastery of content, creativity, and purpose; I highly and wholeheartedly recommend it.

“Library of Small Catastrophes” penetrates mysteries, unveiling understanding, experience, and advice for readers of all backgrounds and cultural identities.

15/08/2019

Nirvana is Here by Aaron Hamburger is set in “the segregated suburbs of Detroit during the 1990s”, during the years when Nirvana achieved fame and rocked the country. The story is formatted in a now / then unveiling, where you get one chapter of current events followed by a much longer section detailing chronological events in Ari Silverman’s childhood and teen years.

Most moving is the growth of Ari and the clean weaving of his past horrors into an informative and mature handling of the awkward situtation he finds himself in as an adult: his ex-husband, a professor at the university they both work at, is accused of s*xual misconduct by a student, and Ari is on the decision board. Both timely and refreshing in its complexity, Nirvana is Here gets to the heart of matters and revels in the glory of accepting one’s against-the-grain identity.

Nirvana is Here is available from Three Rooms Press or your local bookseller for $16 or your local library for free!

Couldn’t put it down: “Nirvana is Here” by Aaaron Hamburger (from Three Rooms Press) is a refreshing, honest, & relatable read.

26/07/2019

The iconic labor activist talks about the Latino vote, Howard Zinn and the ‘year of the woman.’

31/05/2019

"Not Everything Thrown Starts a Revolution" by Stephen S. Mills is important because it is honest. It doesn’t apologize for reveling in taboo. It doesn’t glamorize depression or anxiety or su***de. It reminds us that “A body next to a body / is only a certain kind of knowing.” It shakes the human condition for answers, then resigns itself to paperwork, but it doesn’t forget to observe the journey. These poems teach and reassure and offer a hand back up. If we don’t learn to rely on each other, learn to make time for each other, learn to breathe and forgive and communicate and simply commune, the revolution won’t come. So let’s be painfully honest, so that we can “see the error of [our] ways” and change.

Content warning: su***de Stephen S. Mills’ third book, Not Everything Thrown Starts a Revolution, surprised me. It’s written in two parts: the first covers the end of an 18th-century Ne…

23/05/2019

"Real s*x education… [teaches] that pleasure is an important part of any s*xual relationship. It’s about teaching that there is nothing wrong with wanting to feel s*xual pleasure and seeking it out, so long as it is done safely and responsibly. It’s about teaching comfort with one’s body and a lack of shame over desires, and that there is more to s*x for all people than sticking pen*ses inside of vaginas. Real s*x education teaches how to go about making intelligent, safe choices, rather than just stating choices available… And I believe that teaching teens to make smart choices about s*x must involve teaching them that having s*x, partnered or alone, can be a smart choice.”

Read my full review of "Yes Means Yes" on Hyype! You can buy this amazing essay collection from Seal Press.

4 stars: “Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female S*xual Power and a World Without Rape”, a book of essays collected by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti // A number of these essays are amaz…

06/03/2019

Excited to be delving into these beauties this weekend!

06/03/2019

In “Note Home”, Chloe Honum writes the beautiful line: “It it so important to go / on naming, even if all I said to you this winter was snow, snow, snow.” For me, it evokes the memory of my therapist teaching me of mindfulness. One way to combat mental wellness struggles is through meditation and a focus on being present. Some people count slowly; some pay attention to their breathing; others picture a place that helps them feel calm.

This chapbook, "Then Winter", is available from Bull City Press for $12. Read the full review at Hyype.

Chloe Honum’s chapbook “Then Winter” was released from Bull City Press in 2017; I read it last year and reread it this winter, cherishing the intimate observations and vulnerable …

05/03/2019

23/02/2019

A definitive new study has great news for book lovers: Yes, reading fiction boosts your EQ.

12/02/2019

Christine Kitano’s "Sky Country", published in 2017 by BOA Editions, Ltd., is one of my favorite gently moving collections; I read it in the fall and reread much of it in December. From poems about divorce and enduring to pieces that explore the pains and sufferings of Christine’s family who “fled Korea and Japan” and lived through internment camp incarceration “during WWII”, this collection tackles heavy content with grace, thoughtfulness, and hope.

Christine Kitano’s Sky Country, published in 2017 by BOA Editions, Ltd., is one of my favorite gently moving collections; I read it in the fall and reread much of it in December. From poems a…

14/01/2019

In "Not Here", available from Coffee House Press, Hieu writes often about his mother, about longing, about self-esteem and the fluidity of identity. I learned so much about my own feelings in reading these poems; lines resonated with me and helped me uncover the complexities of my own parental relationships and self-esteem. “Madness, too, can be cumulative,” he writes in “Probe.”

I read Not Here as soon as my galley arrived in March but never made the time to write a review that could do it justice, and I still think it’s impossible to write a review that would do it …

13/08/2018

If you haven't, be sure to read Hyype's interview with Lynn Melnick, author of "Landscape with S*x & Violence" from YesYes Books!

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How can survivors become empowered? How can survivors heal?

"Oh gosh, I wish I knew the answer to these questions. If you find out, please tell me! I do think knowing you’re not alone, that the violence experienced wasn’t you’re fault, and that you’re believed helps. Believe women!! Also, as far as healing goes, please seek therapy. Mental health needs to be taken as seriously as physical health. There are many therapies and treatments that can help with PTSD and other trauma-related issues. From what I can tell, finding empowerment and healing is a lifelong process."

I’ve read quite a few books that discuss or explore s*xual assault, trauma, domestic violence, wartime s*xual crimes, and other similar topics (most notably, Sierra Demulder’s masterful…