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Racing Hummingbirds
Racing Hummingbirds examines, critiques, and at times delights in one woman's navigation through the many worlds of manic depression and her struggle to maintain humanity in the process.
Jeanann Verlee's award-winning debut collection is a series of narratives, prayers, and conjurings which address gender, sex, race, poverty, heartbreak, and survival with such stark intimacy, you will find yourself living inside. These poems cannot possibly be about you, yet they are. They cross boundaries and reclaim hope. They are as the opening poem suggests, nothing short of communion.
Praise
“Racing Hummingbirds is a masterful first collection... They are medicine words.”
- The Legendary
“It's poetry with its teeth bared...completely and unapologetically naked.”
- PANK Magazine
“...a roller coaster of imagistic magic. Form, language, allusion, and voice interact, collide, shape-shift, and duel...throughout an utterly arresting mosaic.”
- Danse Macabre
“Fierce and formidable, Jeanann Verlee is poised to make an indelible mark - much like a razor slashing silk - on what's become a comfortably placid poetic landscape.”
- Patricia Smith, author of Blood Dazzler and Teahouse of the Almighty
“...as visceral and searing as it is compassionate and forgiving.
- Small Press Reviews”
“...one of the most powerful collections I've ever read.”
- Roxane Gay, HTML Giant
Accolades
Recipient of the Independent Publisher Book Award Silver Medal in Poetry
Jeanann Verlee's award-winning debut collection is a series of narratives, prayers, and conjurings which address gender, sex, race, poverty, heartbreak, and survival with such stark intimacy, you will find yourself living inside. These poems cannot possibly be about you, yet they are. They cross boundaries and reclaim hope. They are as the opening poem suggests, nothing short of communion.
Praise
“Racing Hummingbirds is a masterful first collection... They are medicine words.”
- The Legendary
“It's poetry with its teeth bared...completely and unapologetically naked.”
- PANK Magazine
“...a roller coaster of imagistic magic. Form, language, allusion, and voice interact, collide, shape-shift, and duel...throughout an utterly arresting mosaic.”
- Danse Macabre
“Fierce and formidable, Jeanann Verlee is poised to make an indelible mark - much like a razor slashing silk - on what's become a comfortably placid poetic landscape.”
- Patricia Smith, author of Blood Dazzler and Teahouse of the Almighty
“...as visceral and searing as it is compassionate and forgiving.
- Small Press Reviews”
“...one of the most powerful collections I've ever read.”
- Roxane Gay, HTML Giant
Accolades
Recipient of the Independent Publisher Book Award Silver Medal in Poetry
112 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2010
9 people are currently reading
2362 people want to read
About the author
Jeanann Verlee
11 books109 followers Jeanann Verlee is a 2017 National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellow and the author of three books: prey, finalist for the Benjamin Saltman Award (Black Lawrence, 2018); Said the Manic to the Muse (Write Bloody, 2015); and Racing Hummingbirds, silver medal winner in the Independent Publisher Awards (Write Bloody, 2010). She is a recipient of the Third Coast Poetry Prize and the Sandy Crimmins National Prize, and her poems and essays appear in a number of journals, including Adroit, BOAAT, BuzzFeed, VIDA, and Muzzle. She has served as poetry editor for Winter Tangerine Review and Union Station, among others, and as copy editor for multiple individual collections. Verlee performs and facilitates workshops at schools, theatres, libraries, bookstores, and dive bars across North America. She collects tattoos, kisses Rottweilers, and believes in you. Find her at jeanannverlee.com.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
June 12, 2016
Verlee is my kind of poet, and I would venture my kind of person as well. This work is angry at times, beautiful often, and almost always raw. I could relate to much of it, both the ugliness and the elation. I would recommend this book to those seeking contemporary female poets who aren't afraid to be brutal. It is a brilliant kick to the heart.
Book #13 for 2013
Book #13 for 2013
December 2, 2010
This woman performs like a freight train. That in combination with the incredible quality of the words makes hearing them feel like a god/dess is punching your heart.
February 15, 2021
Excerpt from BEAUTIFUL: A LEGEND
He has a bad heart.
No leaking valves,
just a bad, dark purple,
slightly deflated,
extra-soft heart.
I found it on the lip
of the bathroom sink one morning.
I guess he left it there by accident.
I should’ve given it back.
But it was bad and I thought
maybe I could make it un-bad.
I put it under my pillow,
thinking I could dream it into goodness.
It ruined my sheets, obviously.
I sealed it in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator,
next to a box of baking soda to keep it fresh.
Still, after two weeks, the stench was unbearable.
I washed it off,
gave it a fresh bag,
moved it to the freezer.
It iced over within a few days
and I was terribly worried about freezer burn.
Finally, I pickled it in a mason jar.
I carry it with me in my bag
alongside all my books and asthma inhalers,
between my favorite poets’ poems.
He hasn’t come asking for it.
I guess he has no idea where he left it.
Maybe he grew a new one.
He has a bad heart.
No leaking valves,
just a bad, dark purple,
slightly deflated,
extra-soft heart.
I found it on the lip
of the bathroom sink one morning.
I guess he left it there by accident.
I should’ve given it back.
But it was bad and I thought
maybe I could make it un-bad.
I put it under my pillow,
thinking I could dream it into goodness.
It ruined my sheets, obviously.
I sealed it in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator,
next to a box of baking soda to keep it fresh.
Still, after two weeks, the stench was unbearable.
I washed it off,
gave it a fresh bag,
moved it to the freezer.
It iced over within a few days
and I was terribly worried about freezer burn.
Finally, I pickled it in a mason jar.
I carry it with me in my bag
alongside all my books and asthma inhalers,
between my favorite poets’ poems.
He hasn’t come asking for it.
I guess he has no idea where he left it.
Maybe he grew a new one.
October 24, 2017
This collection of poetry is amazing and brutally honest. It covers topics but of course not limited to broken hearts, hurt, rape, abuse and murder
Each poem has a story to convey and is written with great panache
Her writing style is just flawless. Some parts make you wanna cry and end with a sense of elation.
A must read
Ps- Not meant for the light hearted!
Each poem has a story to convey and is written with great panache
Her writing style is just flawless. Some parts make you wanna cry and end with a sense of elation.
A must read
Ps- Not meant for the light hearted!
January 1, 2021
If you want a master class in poetry, read Jeanann Verlee. I feel so sorry for the people who have not discovered her work yet, and simultaneously so envious, as they get to be smacked in the chest by her work for the first time.
September 18, 2013
Best thing I've read this year.
January 18, 2015
"And/Or" was incredible.
September 10, 2017
the poems are really great - don't get me wrong - but i didn't enjoy it all that much (wish i could see the author performing them).
April 25, 2021
When discussing Jeanann Verlee’s debut effort, “Racing Hummingbirds,” there’s a particular passion that’s inoculated upon reading the poem right until the very last. I’ve had this book for about six years now, and all those years I’ve experienced reading the poems for the first time and then reexperiencing them—whether these poems are quintessential from her stage performances that are now transferred to pages.
The collection is divided into five subcollections, focusing on varying topics: lullabies, transformations, butchers, and fireflies. These subcollections help maintain the very foundation and thesis of the collection: swarm of hummingbirds racing from a woman’s mouth wide open.
The first subcollection, “lullaby” greatly captures a persona’s personal lessons and after-the-day encounters. Some of the quintessential Verlee performances can be found here such as “Communion,” “40 Love Letters,” and “unsolicited advice to adolescent girls with crooked teeth and pink hair” They are absolutely breathtaking in page as they are in stage, a rare occurrence in performance poetry.
There are poems that are indeed intended only for page such as “The Telling” and “Mama’s Girl” which are definitive stories of struggles of maintaining a healthy relationship while having a mental illness for the former and of having a mirrored story with your mother to a close hereditary for the later.
The subcollection closes with its soul, “Lessons on Loving a Prophet.” Another quintessential performance piece very lyrical piece, the allusion is unmatched not until her piece “Jezebel Revisits the Book of Kings” (which is in a different book). In here, Verlee stunningly paints a juxtaposed retelling of Christ’s story to that of an abusive man in the perspective of the abused woman.
The next subcollection, “metanoia,” is an absolute favorite among the subcollections found in this book. “untruth” is that poem that glistens lyrically and the narrative just flow undeniably good, it sinks its teeth to the core.
“Holy” would probably a definite favorite of mine among the poems in the entire collections. This is Verlee’s attempt to move on from a relationship that’s crumbling to friendship, recognizing the weakness in the word.
“This is the stink of forgive me, the shirt drenched in sweat
and sometimes sobs. This is what it means to have love.
There is nothing in you that says hold me, no unfolding bulb
of flutter; this is not the agonizing thrum of heartache,
not the tricky misgivings of future; this is the answer
to why we came, why we stay, why each morning
is a reason, and why friend is the weakest word between us.
…How I know we will walk regardless of rain or the ice,
there is no room for taxi, for subway, when four good calves
and a long conversation are the only measure of distance”
Those lines struck me, I have it memorized.
For “butcher,” the third subcollection, “cleave” and “and/or” are the highlights. “Cleave” defamiliarizes mastectomy in another form of care and in a different perspective.
“and/or” on the other hand, is just as spectacular in page and highlights what a true prose poetry can be.
After the juxtapositioning of what had happened/will happen (and) and its further possibilities (or), we are left with this:
“This is not courage.
This is a girl with too much fist. Never enough soap.
This is trying to hold the moon because he is the only one without hands.”
Which creates a lasting impression in the poem, that the persona’s own resolution is within herself.
The fourth subcollection “fireflies” may be my least favorite in a sense that some of the poems are a hit or miss. “Cross the sea, Esman” is an absolute moving piece while “Mother, if in a museum,” creates this perfect metaphor for grandiosity, a common symptom of manic high. The rest either lies on lyrical smoothness of Verlee’s mastery of tone or just dry both the metaphorical content and tonal.
“lullaby (reprise)” is a great finisher for the whole collection. The subcollection contains all the themes we have encountered in the entire book and basically brings out the thesis of the collection.
Overall, “Racing Hummingbird” is nothing short of a strong work from a strong woman like Verlee. The poems are real, subversive, and has that pang to sink its teeth and shake you crazy.
The collection is divided into five subcollections, focusing on varying topics: lullabies, transformations, butchers, and fireflies. These subcollections help maintain the very foundation and thesis of the collection: swarm of hummingbirds racing from a woman’s mouth wide open.
The first subcollection, “lullaby” greatly captures a persona’s personal lessons and after-the-day encounters. Some of the quintessential Verlee performances can be found here such as “Communion,” “40 Love Letters,” and “unsolicited advice to adolescent girls with crooked teeth and pink hair” They are absolutely breathtaking in page as they are in stage, a rare occurrence in performance poetry.
There are poems that are indeed intended only for page such as “The Telling” and “Mama’s Girl” which are definitive stories of struggles of maintaining a healthy relationship while having a mental illness for the former and of having a mirrored story with your mother to a close hereditary for the later.
The subcollection closes with its soul, “Lessons on Loving a Prophet.” Another quintessential performance piece very lyrical piece, the allusion is unmatched not until her piece “Jezebel Revisits the Book of Kings” (which is in a different book). In here, Verlee stunningly paints a juxtaposed retelling of Christ’s story to that of an abusive man in the perspective of the abused woman.
The next subcollection, “metanoia,” is an absolute favorite among the subcollections found in this book. “untruth” is that poem that glistens lyrically and the narrative just flow undeniably good, it sinks its teeth to the core.
“Holy” would probably a definite favorite of mine among the poems in the entire collections. This is Verlee’s attempt to move on from a relationship that’s crumbling to friendship, recognizing the weakness in the word.
“This is the stink of forgive me, the shirt drenched in sweat
and sometimes sobs. This is what it means to have love.
There is nothing in you that says hold me, no unfolding bulb
of flutter; this is not the agonizing thrum of heartache,
not the tricky misgivings of future; this is the answer
to why we came, why we stay, why each morning
is a reason, and why friend is the weakest word between us.
…How I know we will walk regardless of rain or the ice,
there is no room for taxi, for subway, when four good calves
and a long conversation are the only measure of distance”
Those lines struck me, I have it memorized.
For “butcher,” the third subcollection, “cleave” and “and/or” are the highlights. “Cleave” defamiliarizes mastectomy in another form of care and in a different perspective.
“and/or” on the other hand, is just as spectacular in page and highlights what a true prose poetry can be.
After the juxtapositioning of what had happened/will happen (and) and its further possibilities (or), we are left with this:
“This is not courage.
This is a girl with too much fist. Never enough soap.
This is trying to hold the moon because he is the only one without hands.”
Which creates a lasting impression in the poem, that the persona’s own resolution is within herself.
The fourth subcollection “fireflies” may be my least favorite in a sense that some of the poems are a hit or miss. “Cross the sea, Esman” is an absolute moving piece while “Mother, if in a museum,” creates this perfect metaphor for grandiosity, a common symptom of manic high. The rest either lies on lyrical smoothness of Verlee’s mastery of tone or just dry both the metaphorical content and tonal.
“lullaby (reprise)” is a great finisher for the whole collection. The subcollection contains all the themes we have encountered in the entire book and basically brings out the thesis of the collection.
Overall, “Racing Hummingbird” is nothing short of a strong work from a strong woman like Verlee. The poems are real, subversive, and has that pang to sink its teeth and shake you crazy.
February 10, 2025
Half of them just don't hit the target because there's so many metaphors that don't connect, so you don't know what the heck you're reading. Some poems read like a random generator for metaphors and then stuck together to make a poem. If there was a point, you'd never know. I know that it's common to use the same imagery in a poetry collection, but I got tired of it. The second half of the book, after Fireflies section, is much better. I was going to say 2 stars but the section Fireflies and on, redeems it.
I think you have to hear her poems perform the poem, because she does it so well. An "unsolicited advice to adolescent girls with crooked teeth and pink hair" absolutely nails it with her performance. Just reading the poems were something missing.
I think you have to hear her poems perform the poem, because she does it so well. An "unsolicited advice to adolescent girls with crooked teeth and pink hair" absolutely nails it with her performance. Just reading the poems were something missing.
February 9, 2025
Raw poetry with its teeth bared. Beautiful and fierce.
.
My favorites from the collection:
-"the telling"
-"terrible"
-"girls for sale"
-"beautiful: a legend"
-"untruth"
-"God replies"
-"The Great Hush"
-"cutters"
-"numerology"
-"Graham"
-"racing hummingbirds"
-"this is how"
-"resurrection"
-"chime"
.
My favorites from the collection:
-"the telling"
-"terrible"
-"girls for sale"
-"beautiful: a legend"
-"untruth"
-"God replies"
-"The Great Hush"
-"cutters"
-"numerology"
-"Graham"
-"racing hummingbirds"
-"this is how"
-"resurrection"
-"chime"
June 11, 2017
To see this performed would be mesmerising, and on page, it's scary. A window into a house you shouldn't have ever peered in to- but you walked the driveway, kicked the cobbles, and here you are.
Enjoyed immensely and will be having it as a go-to for inspiration for the next quarter.
Enjoyed immensely and will be having it as a go-to for inspiration for the next quarter.
July 2, 2025
3.5 i did like how the poems were written but i didnt think the subject matter lived up to the description of the collection. a lot about sex in a pretty straight way and sa. content matter did not speak to me personally. at times almost felt a bit cheap not in a harsh way but
May 17, 2017
A good translation from spoken word poetry to the page.
July 28, 2019
Loved this and will seek out her other books. She's angry.
February 27, 2021
One of my all-time favorite poetry books. Every piece hit, and some pieces really hit. Beautiful.
January 1, 2022
Jeanann Verlee is such a badass. This collection of poetry was astounding and impossible to put down
May 4, 2022
None for me, thanks!
June 28, 2023
would have liked this more middle to high school
June 19, 2015
A book that is amazing, as said many times already, due to its honest and rather "dirty" nature. I waited a couple years to finally find a copy and read it. I'm not too sure whether or not the wait was entirely worth it, but I do know that I felt close to the narrator when reading the poems. I couldn't relate to absolutely everything, but it was poems like "40 Love Letters" that had me smiling and sighing and constantly nodding away with agreement and understanding. The amount of honesty and power in the poems is remarkable, and is exactly my kind of poetry. I want to feel blown away by the scope of the emotions the poet puts forth, and Verlee succeeds at that magnificently. Not every situation in the book was something I could relate to, understandably, and some things I hope I never have to go through, but the language was so rich and vivid that I felt like I was going through the situations being described and feeling all the pain, anger, fear, disappointment, but also that unmistakable touch of hope and ferocity that was nurtured in the very heart of the collection. I feel energized after reading this one, and know that I now have a little pick-me-up on my bookshelf whenever I need it. I can't wait to see where Verlee's new poetry collection takes me.
December 31, 2015
I am rating this book five out of five because it is phenomenal. Each poem is a different story and it pulls you in makes you feel what they feel. Or at least what they're trying to feel. There are poems that will make you smile, poems that will make you cry, and poems that you may or may not relate to. There was not one poem in this book that I felt lacked anything.
The ending of the book was a slightly longer poem compared to the others and alongside the poem was a small biography to say about the author. Though this book was a completion of poems I felt like the last poem had really ended the book well. It's more in a women's point of view versus a mans, I would've liked it more if it had been a gender mutual poem though. To appeal to both genders in the whole book would've been nice. But other than that it wasn't lackluster or banal. It was a great read and I would differently read I again and again.
The ending of the book was a slightly longer poem compared to the others and alongside the poem was a small biography to say about the author. Though this book was a completion of poems I felt like the last poem had really ended the book well. It's more in a women's point of view versus a mans, I would've liked it more if it had been a gender mutual poem though. To appeal to both genders in the whole book would've been nice. But other than that it wasn't lackluster or banal. It was a great read and I would differently read I again and again.
October 24, 2012
A friend bought me Jeanann Verlees' "Racing Hummingbirds" as a late birthday gift. I became interested in her work (and turned my friend onto it) through PANK magazine.
Verlee's work is extremely powerful. She does some experimental, interesting things with form. Topics include, but are not limited to, broken hearts, rape, and murder. She also responds to art and real crimes. Verlee's work is also very honest. We seem to experience her inner feelings and thoughts at face value. Verlee's work is painful, writhing, excited. Each poem is emotionally dark; I cannot emphasize how dark this woman's work is. Each time I put this book down I left it feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Favorites include: "Communion," "God Replies," "The Cut," "Cross the Sea, Esman," and "Resurrection."
Verlee's work is extremely powerful. She does some experimental, interesting things with form. Topics include, but are not limited to, broken hearts, rape, and murder. She also responds to art and real crimes. Verlee's work is also very honest. We seem to experience her inner feelings and thoughts at face value. Verlee's work is painful, writhing, excited. Each poem is emotionally dark; I cannot emphasize how dark this woman's work is. Each time I put this book down I left it feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Favorites include: "Communion," "God Replies," "The Cut," "Cross the Sea, Esman," and "Resurrection."
October 22, 2013
I was stuck in a rut recently, in which I could not grapple enough interest to read any book.
Racing Hummingbirds pulled me right out of that rut.
This collection of poems is shocking, and at times made me feel quite uncomfortable--- but in a way I loved that feeling. The first poem is absolutely gripping. Nearly every other poem gripped me the same way. Verlee is so good at telling stories, and taking us aback with those stories. This is a new favorite, and I'm so glad I can read again now.
Racing Hummingbirds pulled me right out of that rut.
This collection of poems is shocking, and at times made me feel quite uncomfortable--- but in a way I loved that feeling. The first poem is absolutely gripping. Nearly every other poem gripped me the same way. Verlee is so good at telling stories, and taking us aback with those stories. This is a new favorite, and I'm so glad I can read again now.
September 11, 2012
Beautiful gritty poetry. I first heard Unsolicited Advice To Adolescent Girls With Crooked Teeth And Pink Hair read by the author in a video on tumblr. My favorite line will always be-
"When the boy with the blue mohawk swallows your heart and opens his
wrists, hide the knives, bleach the bathtub, pour out the vodka. Every time."
"When the boy with the blue mohawk swallows your heart and opens his
wrists, hide the knives, bleach the bathtub, pour out the vodka. Every time."
October 10, 2013
This collection of poems is so raw and so magnificient! I just want everyone to read it! It's deeply uncomfortable and it makes you feel things. There are trigger warnings for her poetry, but she does beautiful things with form in her poems, and you should all at least watch her perform some of these in youtube.
August 16, 2014
Absolutely breathtaking! Jeanann Verlee is one of my favorite poets. All her poems are very strong and just hit you. Even if you haven't experienced any of the things she has gone through you can still somehow relate. She's unapologetic and honest and thats just what the world of poetry and literature needs.
June 27, 2022
Knocked me out! It is a collection I will keep by my side, ALWAYS!
Verlee is a knock-out punch of brute force and beauteous abandon. She makes my spleen eternally thankful for her work!
Reread and once again blasted by her brilliance! DEEP DEEP LOVE!
Verlee is a knock-out punch of brute force and beauteous abandon. She makes my spleen eternally thankful for her work!
Reread and once again blasted by her brilliance! DEEP DEEP LOVE!
February 17, 2013
This book is absolutely gorgeous. Raw, poignant, and everything that's good and brave about poetry. Verlee writes with brilliant phrasing, razor sharp diction, and emotions that feel as if they were plucked straight from your heart. Her writing is, quite honestly, a work of art.
February 14, 2018
A collection to revisit over a over again to get a smack of raw emotions right across your face. Also to revisit because there was no way I understood it all the first time, perhaps, I never will but it's worth a try.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews