Last month I picked up a collection of poetry called Virgin by Analicia Sotelo.  Not only was I was intrigued by the collection’s premise, I wanted to support a Texan writer (she received her MFA from the University of Houston).

I really enjoyed this collection.  The poems navigate womanhood, heartbreak, and abandonment with an assured, confident voice, with a fresh voice.  I read a collection several years ago from a young poet gaining a lot of attention, but nearly every poem was written for an invisible heartbreaker, and I tired quickly of the cliches in each poem.  Fortunately, that is not the case with this collection.  Though it’s a collection I feel I will have to read several times to truly digest, I really enjoyed the overall collection and the wry humor injected into her poems.  From “Summer Barbecue with Two Men”:

“judgment is a golden habanero margarita/ with wings,wet & cold/ on his chest. So/many people are tender from the right angle./  I’m hungry & confused.  I love/ a good barbecue.  Save me.”

If you’re looking for poetry from a rising (Texan!) poet, then I think you’ll enjoy Virgin. 4 stars.