Mouthful of Forevers

by Clementine von Radics

Titled after the poem that burned up on Tumblr and has inspired wedding vows, paintings, songs, YouTube videos, and even tattoos among its fans, Mouthful of Forevers brings the first substantial collection of this gifted young poet’s work to the public.

Clementine von Radics writes of love, loss, and the uncertainties and beauties of life with a ravishing poetic voice and piercing bravura that speak directly not only to the sensibility of her generation, but to anyone who has ever been young.

Genres: Poetry, Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult, Fiction, Feminism, LGBT

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2015

About the author

Clementine von Radics is the author of "Mouthful of Forevers" and the founder of Where Are You Press. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

For questions or booking, email her at
[email protected]


Tumblr: http://clementinevonradics.tumblr.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Clementine.v...

Reviews

[Es Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There will always be those who say you are too young and delicate to make anything happen for yourself. They don't see the part of you that smolders.
Don't let their doubting drown out the sound of your own heartbeat.
You are the first drop of rain in a hurricane."

I loved this book.
It spoke to me on a personal level.
Mouthful of Forevers is about delicate girls who look soft, but are hurricanes instead.
It's about finding the power in your femininity and being proud of softness.

"You are needed by all the little girls still living in secret,
writing oceans made of monsters and throwing like lightning,
You are so much stronger than the world has ever believed you could be.
The world is waiting for you to set it on fire."

This book gave me secret power.
Who else feels powerless sometimes?
With aching eyes and a skin that is too thin?
I think we all have it.
And sometimes you need to believe you are a superhero, too.

Because there is power behind weakness,
and determination behind softness, kindness.
There is art behind a fragile face,
and poetry after sadness.

"You keep trying to turn your body bulletproof.
You keep trying to turn your heart bomb shelter.
Stop, darling,
You are soft and alive.
You bruise and heal.
Cherish it.
It is what you were born to do."

I feel like I know the author,
Or:
Like she knows me.
It feels like these words were written for me,
trying to heal me,
make me feel better,
make me feel understood.

And maybe her book can only be understood if you are a delicate baby, too.
If you know how it feels to break and heal.
If you sometimes love too hard,
or don't love at all.

"I think I like myself a little broken,
with rough edges,
a little harder to grasp.
I like poetry better than therapy anyway."

[Whitney Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been crying for 10 minutes if that tells you how good this collection was.

I picked this up as an ebook a couple of weeks ago but then completely forgot about it and when I returned to it tonight, I reread the entire thing in one sitting and was just bawling throughout it. Other than the fact that this book has gorgeous and creative prose that utilizes metaphor well, her poems are so unique. Most modern poetry collections are the same things over and over about "omg i loved a boy but he left me," but these were so varied and yet retained cohesion and flow. Additionally, some of these poems touched on her bisexuality and disability, so I enjoyed the representation this book offers.

I can't say enough good things about this. It's totally refreshing to read a poetry book that has me highlighting at least one line from every single poem. My favorite was probably her poem called "Advice to Teenage Girls/with Wild Ambitions/and Trembling Hearts," which is a one about the world's teenage, female heroes that made me cry instantaneously. Here’s the first stanza:

"When you are 13 years old,
the heat will be turned up too high
and the stars will not be in your favor.
You will hide behind a bookcase
with your family and everything hunted.
You will spend years pouring an ocean
into a diary. When they find you,
they will treat you like nothing more
than a spark above a burning bush.
Still, tell them,
Despite everything,
I really believe people are good at heart.”

[Hamad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review and other non-spoilery reviews can be found @The Book Prescription

“I said, I love you
when I meant something much
more specific, I should have said,
Please don't leave me,
I'm afraid to sleep alone.”

I don't know why this is not as popular as Milk and honey and The princess saves herself in this one although it was better!
Some of the poems were outstanding and some were just over the top.
Still a good book for poetry fans.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to love this one but found it too focused on romantic angst for my taste. I enjoyed some of the poems in their emotional rawness, like "Advice to Teenage Girls with Wild Ambitions and Trembling Hearts." But I felt a lack of movement or progress or growth in the poems about romance and relationships. I appreciate the vulnerability in this collection, though I much prefer Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey .

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a hard collection for me to rate. The poems that really were strong were fantastic, surprising, bold...

But I felt that the majority of the book felt like first drafts. Cliches, ideas that seemed half-formed, tangents that didn't really lead anywhere.

I would like to read more by this poet, because the glimpses of brilliance that I found underneath. I'm just a bit disappointed in the rushed quality of many of the poems as I think that with a bit more time and work they could have been something incredible.

[Shai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should not be comparing this to other poetry books, but I just can't help to compare this to what I've read in the past that's in the same genre, e.g. Lang Leav's. This is way better than Leav's work because there are a lot of good poems that included here and one of this is Mouthful of Forevers. This is an excerpt from the said poem:

I am not the first person you loved.
You are not the first person I looked at
with a mouthful of forevers. We
have both known loss like the sharp edges
of a knife. We have both lived with lips
more scar tissue than skin. Our love came
unannounced in the middle of the night.
Our love came when we’d given up
on asking love to come. I think
that has to be part
of its miracle.
 
This is how we heal.
I will kiss you like forgiveness. You
will hold me like I’m hope. Our arms
will bandage and we will press promises
between us like flowers in a book.
I will write sonnets to the salt of sweat
on your skin. I will write novels to the scar
on your nose. I will write a dictionary
of all the words I have used trying
to describe the way it feels to have finally,
finally found you.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of poetry from a writer with a very young voice. I don’t say this to disparage; most of the work here is very good - powerful, heartfelt. The writer is perhaps a little too much masochistically in love with their own pain, as young writers often are; this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the resulting art but is something you have to grow past as a person.

Untitled 2

What doesn’t kill you leaves disfiguring scars

What doesn’t kill you fills you
with paralyzing self-hatred

What doesn’t kill you makes you an unfit mother

What doesn’t kill you makes it all so hard

What doesn’t kill you wakes you up
in the middle of the night

What doesn’t kill you turns you into an alcoholic

What doesn’t kill you makes you do unforgivable things
to the people you love

What doesn’t kill you makes you afraid
for the rest of your life

What doesn’t kill you might make you kill them

My next book: Ultraman vol. 1: The Rise of Ultraman

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite collection of poems by Clementine--and that's saying something because I hold As Often As Miracles and Home very close to my heart.

When it comes to describing poetry...well, it's not really my forte, so I typically make a list of my favorite poems, but I can't do that this time. See, the problem is that if I made a list it would consist of somewhere around sixty poems. So instead I'm going to refer you to the quotes page for this book (it's on the right hand side of your screen). Go through that because there's no better way to experience poetry than reading it for yourself.

I highly recommend picking this book up, it's worth every penny!

[Haley Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

a reread

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED THIS

[Jennifer (formerly Eccentric Muse) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title poem is spectacular. Worth the price of admission and I'm glad to have bought the book based on the tumblr-hype just to support a young poet. I hope Clementine von Radics continues to develop and I will look forward to reading her in about 10-15 years (god willin' and the creeks don't rise).

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mouthful of Forevers is titled after a poem that had blown up on tumblr and has apparently inspired wedding vows, songs, and paintings.

MOUTHFUL OF FOREVERS

I am not the first person you loved.
You are not the first person I looked at
with a mouthful of forevers. We
have both known loss like the sharp edges
of a knife. We have both lived with lips
more scar tissue than skin. Our love came
unannounced in the middle of the night.
Our love came when we’d given up
on asking love to come. I think
that has to be part
of its miracle.
This is how we heal.
I will kiss you like forgiveness. You
will hold me like I’m hope. Our arms
will bandage and we will press promises
between us like flowers in a book.
I will write sonnets to the salt of sweat
on your skin. I will write novels to the scar
on your nose. I will write a dictionary
of all the words I have used trying
to describe the way it feels to have finally,
finally found you.
And I will not be afraid
of your scars.
I know sometimes
it’s still hard to let me see you
in all your cracked perfection,
but please know:
Whether it’s the days you burn
more brilliant than the sun
or the nights you collapse into my lap,
your body broken into a thousand questions,
you are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
I will love you when you are a still day.
I will love you when you are a hurricane.

This little book of less than 100 pages is divided into four parts; each part is named based on lines extracted from poems within the book.

The poems urge the reader to reconsider the meaning of love and how the way we heal from it; they make us question whether love is a single emotion or is it a tangled wrecked mess of emotions. They also explore the fragility and intensity of being in love, and the uncertainties of growing up.

Von radices, in Mouthful of Forevers, has mastered the art of expressing complex thoughts and feelings in a simple manner, and expressing simple thoughts in a rather complex way in other times.

The poems felt very real and raw. They were overwhelming yet gorgeous.


Some favorite parts of mine:

I think I like myself a little broken,
with rough edges, a little harder
to grasp. I like poetry
better than therapy anyway.
The poems never judge me
for healing wrong.

There will always be those
who say you are too young and delicate
to make anything happen for yourself.
They don’t see the part of you that smolders.
Don’t let their doubting drown out
the sound of your own heartbeat.

You keep trying to turn your body bulletproof.
You keep trying to turn your heart bomb shelter.
Stop, darling,
You are soft and alive.
You bruise and heal.
Cherish it.
It is what you were born to do.

Our love came
unannounced in the middle of the night.
Our love came when we’d given up
on asking love to come. I think
that has to be part
of its miracle.

The story behind art is that it is never a masterpiece until it has been bought and hung on the wall in someone else’s home.

I fear a story in which a stubborn wound does not stay stitched, but rips open with the flex of muscle.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

'The Story Behind Lobsters
Is that they weren’t considered
a delicacy until the 19th century.
Before that they were peasant food,
most often served in prisons.

The story behind diamonds
is they were just rocks until 1938,
when a marketing campaign
forever linked them with love.

The story behind art
is that it is never a masterpiece
until it has been bought and hung
on the wall in someone
else’s home.

The story behind us
is until I lost you
I had no idea
what you were worth'

[Devin The Book Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I might have found a new favorite poet.

[Clumsy Storyteller · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The good news is you survived. The bad news is you're hurt and no one can heal you but yourself."

I relate to some poems and re-read them from time to time. Enjoyable read overall.

[Haley Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

2016 Reading Challenge: A book of poetry

[Zainab · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crappy books just keep gravitating towards me I swear.

[Arij Meddeb · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[trestitia ⵊⵊⵊ deamorski · Rating 4 out of 5]

[It's 3.5 ⭐]

“I Am Jealous of Your Tattoos
And how long
they will stay with you
after I go.”

I came from my deleted tumblr. I still remember the feeling when I read this poem. It had hit me hard cuz it was simple. It is simple but not cheesy.

It's not the matter of what you tell but how you tell. This one is a good example. I'm a huge anti of inspiring/confessional poems as much as a fan so it's important the way you choose. Like nowadays they sound similar but not trying to be an anthem which is so lame (usually under of minimal poem.)

von Radics prefers "their/they/them", so...

Their poems about relationship, love, body, heart, pain... ugly or fair, strong or weak, abused or abusive side of themselves- Broken but Cute. Like almost every struggling person, poems have their own drama, sarcasm, irony; they are thick, raw, sharp, soft, intimate- there is art in them.

“Superheroes always have broken hearts
and tragic backstories, so maybe I’m doing okay.”

I LOVED For Those Like Me, with Hearts Like Kindling, That Spring Everything Grew Wild and the Rain Came Down Like Punishment, Morning Haiku, Mermaid, The First Time You Washed Up at Our Door.

“It is hard to write poems
when I only know how to fuck you.”

reading on tumblr way much better...
xoxoxo
iko

[Jahnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before this collection, I've never heard of you, Clementine von Radics. I'm sorry, but when I picked up this book I first thought that was a sort-of-pretentious-a-little-over-the-top-sort-of-silly-name.

But after reading this collection, I could not be more grateful I found you, Clementine von Radics. And now your name is a name I would search for, a name I would appreciate, a name I would know.

[Marwa Eletriby · Rating 2 out of 5]

he used to love me
and now
he is just
a stranger
who happen to know all
my secrets

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, the beauty of poems comes from listening to them as they're read aloud.

To be honest, I usually prefer dark poetry. Poetry about war, anguish, bereavement, death and loss--anything that has darkness hovering over it. For some reason, I find poems about romance annoying and whiny(the only romance poems I've loved wholeheartedly are those written in form of love letters from John Keats to Fanny Brawne).

But this...this was phewww. I read the poems aloud(not weird at all), and many, many times I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time at the sheer splendour of it. I wanted to stand on my balcony and scream out loud "THERE IS STILL BEAUTY IN THE WORLD! IT'S STILL THERE..."

But then, nothing's perfect. There were some poems riding low on adrenaline, and most times, those poems came after the REEEEALLY impacting ones. But I guess that's good. We do need to come up for air once in a while before going back under.

My favorites were:
Mouthful of Forevers and Advice To Teenage girls with Wild Ambitions and Trembling Hearts.

I read Mouthful of Forevers so many times over a few hours and eventually it got ingrained in my memory. Word for Word, Line by Line.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What no one ever talks about
is how dangerous hope can be.
Call it forgiveness
with teeth."

~♥~"That’s the thing about heartbreak.
It’s the smallest of worlds ending.
Everyone goes around you smiling,
like it’s nothing to close a door." ~♥~

Another book full of emotions for those who love to feel!
Another author that bleeds ink into pages and pages of life and everything in it.
I loved the way Clementine von Radics put her experiences into this beautiful package of poems.
It always feels a bit strange and at the same time curious to see how other people deal with life.
How are they moving on and if they move on.
If some things are stuck with us forever or if someone new can erase everything and give you a new begininng.

You are some sweet boy with a good smile
and a shaky heart. Come kiss me.
I'm in love with the miracle of your body-
beside my body.


Favourite quote:
"You have survived every day
for as long as you’ve been alive.
You could spit fire if you wanted."

Thank you, dear author!! The best♥

[Divine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this only for YA Bookaholics November Readathon, and figured that it would be perfect since I could read it easily. This however, stumped my low expectations for I unexpectedly loved it. From the first poem to the last one, Clementine's words resonate profoundly and this just might be the best poetry book that I've read in my entire life. That being said here are some of my favorite quotes:

"I think I like myself a little broken,

with rough edges, a little harder

to grasp. I like poetry

better than therapy anyway.

The poems never judge me

for healing wrong."

"Drowning people often believe that if they grab hold of someone else they can be saved, but it just makes you both sink faster."

"Apologies do not make for good bandages."

"It is hard to be in love with someone who is in love with someone else.I don’t know how to turn that into poetry."

[Искра · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this so much.

On being a writer

Look at us,
smiling with all our teeth out.
Suffering so bravely in the spotlight,
spilling blood on the page.
Behind the curtain
someone is bleeding.
There is dust on the floor.
You can smell the mold.

Apologies don't make good bandages.

The good news is you survived. The bad news is you're hurt and no one can heal you but yourself. You just have to find a stiff drink and a clean needle before you bleed out. And then you get up. And start over.

It is hard to be in love with someone
who is in love with someone else.
I don't know how to turn that into poetry.

....

That's the thing about heartbreak.
It's the smallest of worlds ending.
Everyone goes around you smiling,
like it's nothing to close a door.

[Katelynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visceral and guttural poetry. My favourite kind. Clementine taps into her heart and experiences in a way that makes me wish I knew her so I could love her sometimes and then other times makes me glad I don't know her so she can't hurt me. I only wish that the poems had been ordered in a way that made more sense - seemed a bit all over the place so there wasn't much of a flow when reading it in one sitting. Overall, I loved it and really recommend it. Her voice needs to be heard.

[Jaeleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of my favorites, I must have read it at least fifty times since receiving it. Clementine's writing is artistic and raw, and deals with events too many of us in life have gone through or are currently going through, and by the end of it I'm always left feeling simultaneously exposed and completed. I look forward to more of their work and in the meantime will continue to read their currents again and again.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most gorgeous poetry collections I've ever read. The thing I loved the most was how much it resonated with my own soul!

Definitely recommend :)

[Amal Bedhyefi · Rating 2 out of 5]

nothing but clichès.

[Mia Vicino · Rating 3 out of 5]

sometimes there were valuable poems i would’ve appreciated as a lovesick teen and then sometimes there’s a poem about how kim kardashian is a feminist icon 😬😬😬