An autobiographical poetry and art book, heartaches' poems are as universal as they are personal. The poems are conceived as flashpoints of heartaches that reflect painful moments in the author’s life.
Growing up gay, biracial (half-white and half-black), liberal and agnostic in small-town Texas imbued Donovan Lord’s life with a mountain full of heartaches. Told through poetry, heartaches revisits many painful moments in the life of the author from heartbreak, to suicide, and from racism to homophobia, heartaches reflects the various means of pain that the author has endured over a 25 year period.
heartaches also features Donovan Lord’s artwork and photography in conjunction with each poem to elevate and complement the emotional experience of the book.
An introspective, innovative debut, heartaches reminds us of the transformative power of emotional pain and the indomitable human spirit.
Often when you read a book of poetry, it can be a hit or a miss depending on the collection's topic. Heartaches by Donovan Lord is a collection of poems not easily forgotten. And the topic is one which everyone can relate to on some level, even if they have never been in a relationship or cannot relate to the life of the author in any way.
What I appreciate the most about Headache is its openness and the stark reminder that we all understand what heartbreak looks like. When we read poetry about heartbreak, we not only feel it but we often live it as well. Even though we might not all look the same, or hold to the same basic spiritual beliefs, we can find one human emotion through which we all connect.
The imagery that Donovan Lord brings to mind is also something not easily forgotten because that imagery stands on its own merits. This helps to aid us in our journey, as we ourselves struggle to understand why life continues to treat us in such a way that we are helpless and continue to flounder on our own, hoping someone will stand next to us. We know that we all have gone through life, suffering from loss and heartache. Poetry is the simple reminder that we are not alone.
May Heartaches by Donovan Lord reach inside you and grab onto you and never make you feel alone!