By Larissa Page
Scars & Stars is the follow up to Jesse Thistle’s best- selling memoir From The Ashes. A few years ago From The Ashes took Canada by storm, gaining hordes of readers who loved, resonated, praised, cried over, and shared in Thistle’s story of addiction, homelessness, jail time, recovery, resilience, and ultimately, love. Throughout that memoir, he provided snippets of his poetry, which readers praised and loved and requested for more. And so was born Scars & Stars.
Scars & Stars is a really unique collection of poetry. Throughout the book, Thistle gives us introductions of each section, real talk, and his real voice to explain what each sub-collection/section means, where it came from, and what it’s about. He tells us stories, some of which we already know (if we’ve read From the Ashes) but goes deeper, and some of which are new. Some of the sections and stories include things that have happened since the end of From the Ashes, like the birth of his beautiful daughter, Rose, and the worries and struggles that come with fatherhood.
As already recognized in his previous work, Thistle’s writing is beautiful. It is whole and full of emotion, of struggle, of suffering, and of love. His poems are original, unlike other works of contemporary poetry one might find on bookstore shelves. The poems grow, as he grew, and the poems change, as he changed. They were deep and impactful while still being accessible to those who may have had shared the same experienced he did.
What I think I liked the most was how Thistle framed this collection of poetry as a passing on of the knowledge he had held so close and ultimately served to keep him going in his bleakest moments. He describes what his “shield” was and how up until now he hasn’t shared this information for fear of losing its protectiveness but now feels it is time to share it so others can use it too, to get themselves out, to also rise from the ashes.
Poetry is often hit or miss for me. I do not always connect with the poet as I read a collection. However, this one was an absolute hit, out of the ballpark. An incredible follow up and companion to From the Ashes.
Thank you, Penguin Random House Canada, for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.