Staff Pick
Poetry is difficult for me. I like poetry, and I don't like it. It's not uncommon for me to find a book of poetry so lifeless that I put the poems down and never return to the words. Kate Baer has a different effect on me. Her relatable prose can hit me hard. Is this her life she's writing about, or is it mine? Her first book, What Kind of Woman: Poems, focuses on all things female: friendships, dating, marriage, motherhood, and life. With Baer's words, spoken from a place of pure honesty and practicality, I find myself wondering whom in my life can I share this book with. Recommended By Corie K-B., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
A stunning and honest debut poetry collection about the beauty and hardships of being a woman in the world today, and the many roles we play — mother, partner, and friend.
When life throws you a bag of sorrow, hold out your hands/Little by little, mountains are climbed.
So ends Kate Baer's remarkable poem "Things My Girlfriends Teach Me." In "Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels" she challenges her reader to consider their grandmother's cake, the taste of the sea, the cool swill of freedom. In her poem "Deliverance" about her son's birth she writes What is the word for when the light leaves the body?/What is the word for when it/at last, returns?
Through poems that are as unforgettably beautiful as they are accessible, Kate proves herself to truly be an exemplary voice in modern poetry. Her words make women feel seen in their own bodies, in their own marriages, and in their own lives. Her poems are those you share with your mother, your daughter, your sister, and your friends.
Review
"In these confident and fearless poems, Baer suggests that the deepest and most vulnerable love is found in life's imperfections." Publishers Weekly
Review
"The poet's Instagram presence has become a balm for many in 2020, and now her lyrical takes on feminism, marriage, and politics come to the page IRL with this new collection." Entertainment Weekly
About the Author
Kate Baer is a writer and poet based on the East Coast. Her work has regularly been featured on Joanna Goddard's Cup of Jo, Romper, and Huffington Post. What Kind of Woman is her first book.