I love meaningful poetry. The kind of poetry that makes my heart race, takes my mind for a spin, and forces me to expand my horizons. The kind of poetry that Kahlil Gibran, Emily Dickinson, Alphonse de Lamartine, Maya Angelou, Tantra-zawadi, and Michelle Antoinette Nelson write. This list of luminary poets should also include Geoffrey Philp, a writer whom I discovered and interviewed earlier this year. Philp is the author of Archipelagos, a poetry collection that examines the connection between colonialism and climate change: It is a call to arms for my readers to take global warming seriously and to do all they can to mitigate the effects of climate change. – Geoffrey Philp And what a call to arms this book is! From the get-go, Philp’s voice imposes itself on the page. His words are polished and carefully chosen, weaving a tapestry of important messages. What you read cannot be unread. If you followed the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, you’d believethat there are no black angels in heaven. – “The Archangel’s Trumpet” (Archipelagos, p.41) Philp does not toy with our emotions. Even in his most passionate poems, he never lectures. He just speaks with conviction, asking us, especially in the Western world, to accept the part our forefathers played in making the world what it is today. Down narrow corridors of the Muskowekwan School for Indigenous Children, we enterthe nightmare of our guide, Harry Desjarlais, who’d been kidnapped and herded into dorms with beds as long as caskets in a potter’s field. – “A Search for Ancestors” (Archipelagos, p.39) Archipelagos also invites us to think deeply about the way injustice and racism continue to thrive almost unhindered. “Anthem for the Woke” (p.49) for example, offers a scathing criticism of the mainstream media and its divisive tactics. In “Roadmap to Genocide” (p.33), the inner workings of mass extermination are laid bare for all to see. That poem and “Colonial Discourse” (p.9) serve as strong reminders that the next genocide is never far away. Our complacency, especially “At the brink of dawn,” is our worst enemy. Finally, there is “Precautionary Measures” (p.35), which delivers one of the most memorable lines I have read in 21st-century poetry: For when you live one step awayfrom the catch-as-catch-can genocidethat hides in the swirling lights of policecars, you doubt whether prayer can protect loved ones from the evil of men doing their job. To say that Archipelagos is bold, thought-provoking, and right on the money about our world is not enough. This book stands in a category of its own and deserves many accolades. Very rarely have I read a modern book of poetry that has moved me as much as Archipelagos. And I know that you will agree when you read it too. More information about Archipelagos To purchase a copy, click here. Disclaimer: I was gifted a PDF copy of Archipelagos in exchange for an honest review.

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