*I received a free copy of Bread and Circus and Simulacra from a giveaway by Scribner and Yale University Press. All reviews and opinions are my own.*
A few months ago, I won an Instagram giveaway for Airea D. Matthews’s newest poetry book, Bread and Circus, along with her previous poems, Simulacra. And I am so grateful for it because Bread and Circus was one of the best poetry books I have read in a long time.
As Philadelphia’s current poet laureate and a former student of economics, Matthews combines her knowledge of economic systems and inequality with her personal experiences and history. Bread and Circus is stunning and reinvents the limits of poetry. Matthews has such a fresh and unique voice that I could see myself returning to this collection again and again.
What makes this collection so brilliant is how she weaves so many different ideas and texts together. The seminal economic texts of Adam Smith are juxtaposed against Guy Debord’s theories on late-stage capitalism and commodification. Meanwhile, Matthews employs a variety of poetry types, including blackout poetry, shape poetry, a sonnet, and free verse. The sheer breadth of ideas and forms creates a playground of meaning. There is no topic or idea left unturned, from economics, commodification, racism, media, personal history, humor and pain.
One of the main themes of this collection is the psychological, historical, economic, and societal impacts of generational poverty. By combining economic theory with her personal experiences, Matthews illustrates how in late-stage capitalism, the body is a commodity. Matthews discusses the commodification and “othering” of the body, especially for people of color, who experience racism at both a systemic and deeply personal level.
From personal anecdotes of her childhood raised in poverty to her experiences as a mother raising her children, Matthews’s poems show the insidious impacts of systemic injustice and poverty through generations, all with poignant clarity and poetics.
While I read, I listened to the audiobook read by the author, which was such an enlightening experience to hear Matthews read each of her poems with the cadence and strength they were written for. There were so many clever phrases or lines that just took my breath away.
Bread and Circus is a deeply personal and brilliant collection of poetry I am so glad I had the chance to read.
This was some of the best poetry I have read in a while and if you love poetry, I highly recommend this book.
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