Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid

Lovely prose and accessible poetry combined in this delightful volume. And Giovanni is a local author! If this pandemic ever ends and I ever leave the house again for things that are not constant doctors' appointments, maybe I will run into Giovanni at Target or wherever and I will be so excited that I can't decide if I would be chill or fangirl all over her. (Based on how she reacted to meeting Nina Simone, inviting her to a party she was throwing because famous people probably don't get invited places by normal people, I have to assume that she wouldn't mind being approached.)

Pieces that resonated with me:
- In Defense of Flowers - the first time I've thought about the statement “in lieu of flowers” and recognizing that beauty for beauty's sake is worthwhile
- When My Phone Trembles - about the jolt of fear when you receive a late-night phone call
- Allowables - because of the way it parallels a mundane occurrence (killing a spider) with violence against others (making me think about state/police violence against black bodies; though this collection came out in 2013)
- Our Job Safety is Your Priority with Coffee - for the peek into Giovanni's editing process when it comes to poetry, and because I love her coffee poem:

Vitamin C prevents
Colds

A and D do sunshine
Things

We need Calcium
For strong bones
And

There must be something
For the eyes
Carrots, Cabbage, Lettuce
You never sawA blind rabbit

And I have a friend
Who thinks Salmon
Will prevent
A loss of your mind

But I believe
In Coffee
Drip
Percolated
Pressed
Coffee
Black, not sweet
No cream
Coffee
Which smells like morning
And feels like friendship

Coffee

While we laugh
And preview
Our day