Cyrus Parker

DROPKICKpoet

A collection of autobiographical poetry about healing and learning to love again from professional-wrestler-turned-poet, Cyrus Parker. The first half of DROPKICKromance focuses on a toxic, long-distance relationship the author was involved in for several years, while the second half focuses on his current relationship with poet Amanda Lovelace, who penned a beautiful foreword for the book. Ultimately, the collection tells about a profound journey of healing.

Dropkickromance

Flavia Louise

This is hard to rate, as I didn't care for most of it and then really related to a few poems.

Chelsea Breher

Was fortunate enough to access an advanced copy of DROPKICKromance through NetGalley. Cyrus hit me right in the feels many times. His poetry is raw, emotional, inspiring, and frankly beautiful. I strongly reccomend this book!

Stefie 

This book is a lovely collection of poems by Cyrus Parker who is the husband of Amanda Lovelace.
I have never read anything by Lovelace, but I heard of her works before, and I am aware of her writing style. This book has that similar type of writing style with her and maybe also kind of similar with Kaur. 

I enjoy this one way better than Kaur's though :)

I can relate to a lot of his feelings. However, I feel the sense of familiarity from it. So many contemporary poetry that talks about these topics.
But all in all, I enjoyed it.

*Digital copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jessica 

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  how can it be
that the moon is surrounded
by all of the stars
in the nighttime sky
and yet
it still looks so isolated
from the rest of the universe
around it?


Review also found here

There's just something about witnessing book bloggers that I've followed (and admired from affair) for years being able to follow their dreams that gives me the warm and fuzzies. I cannot think of a better group of people to see thrive and accomplish the very best. While I don't know Cyrus Parker or Amanda Lovelace on a personal level, there's something so very satisfying about seeing them become such a prominent part of the poetry community. #OTP

DROPKICKromance is, hands down, one of the best releases in poetry this year. And to put it bluntly one of the best modern poetry debuts, well, ever. Parker weaves together a tale of love and loss, of destruction and the rebuilding of one's self. DROPKICKromance is a story of coming of age; of life and its changes, of the toxic and the journey that follows. Cyrus Parker holds back no punches when it comes to his exploration of self, the heartache of the past and the hope of the future. You see the pain of one relationship as it tries to engulf him; the aftermath, the recovery and the path that leads Parker to where--readers sense--he was meant to be all along.

(Not to mention who he was meant to be.)

Which makes the collection all the more satisfying and relatable to readers of all walks of life. Parker doesn't hold back. And this is why it is such a successful release.

There's a lot to DROPKICKromance that will compel readers to keep their eyes to his prose. As I sat here, skimming over the pages I marked within the book, I couldn't quite bring my thoughts to paper. Or, er, blogger. I kept circling in on the fact that Cyrus Parker's writing accomplished so much more than many other men (who are brilliant in their own right, of course) in the writing community had in ages. 

Something that they failed to express. Then, I stumbled upon the review of DROPKICKromance that Alicia Cook (author of Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately; one of my all-time favourite poetry collections ever) and she explained it far better than I ever could:

 
  Parker is not speaking for women, and I don't think he is writing in the hopes of garnering thousands of women fans. He's telling how two women changed HIS life (one for worse, one for better), not the other way around. 



Parker never uses his past, present or future as background noise to a bigger picture. He handles it all with care and honesty. Much like Cook said, he doesn't speak for the women he's known; the story is merely how they came to change him.

This is without a doubt his story. 

There's something in the way he expresses himself that is inclusive and hopeful. In all the bleakness that came through the rough notes of his life, there's just something about the way that he has carried himself through--the way he crafted DROPKICKromance--that is utterly inspirational. 

Cyrus Parker is a voice that commands to be heard.

And you should definitely listen.

Gretchen Gomez

from drowning in a dark sea of lost love to swimming with a mermaid filled with hope, honesty, and a love that will never sink, DROPKICKromance wrestles with heartbreak and will win you over with poems of self-discovery, healing, and the fairytale ending you've always wanted to read.

Charlie

Alison Rebovich

"dropkick this broken heart and make it feel again." From pro-wrestler-turned-poet Cyrus Parker comes a poetic memoir that tells the tale of two relationships. The first half of DROPKICKromance focuses on a toxic, long-distance relationship the author was involved in for several years, while the second half focuses on Parker's current relationship with poet Amanda Lovelace, who penned a beautiful foreword for the book. This collection takes you by hand and brings you on a journey through first love, heartbreak, and learning to love again.

Dropkickromance

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