Rudy Francisco

Helium is the debut poetry collection by internet phenom Rudy Francisco, whose work has defined poetry for a generation of new readers. Rudy's poems and quotes have been viewed and shared millions of times as he has traveled the country and the world performing for sell-out crowds. Helium is filled with work that is simultaneously personal and political, blending love poems, self-reflection, and biting cultural critique on class, race and gender into an unforgettable whole. Ultimately, Rudy's work rises above the chaos to offer a fresh and positive perspective of shared humanity and beauty.

Helium

Ende Duerr

Deepika Ramesh

Most Spoken Poetry I have ever read were written by women. So I looked forward to reading a man's narration on the themes which are generally explored in Spoken Poetry. Francisco's poems moved me once in a while, and I also watched his videos. I don't think I would read this book again, but it was sporadically deep.

Annika Arguemore

I tried to love it, I really did, but it was too heavily reliant on metaphor and reverse personification that some of his poems became cliche. Some of the cliches in the poem work. Some of them don't. Some of the poems are better off performed as spoken word. 

As a former poet that used to use cliche a lot in my old poetry, the old me would have loved the poems in this book. But now, I'm not so sure. Perhaps poems like these are best heard through spoken delivery. Perhaps my tastes have changed. Either way, I still appreciate some poems in this book.

this book was something. though i felt the first 2 parts common? part 3 was mildly political in the most eye opening way. An enjoyable read for sure!

This collection was just phenomenal! Being a poet myself, I was very inspired by the poems in this book and the message they deliver to the reader. They hold very special lessons that our generation would greatly relate to. I also like how they were told through a personal narrative since that really helps us bond with the experiences of the persona.

Gabriella Parker

i have so many pages bookmarked w poems that i absolutely loved. i love this book and rudy’s writing style. rly makes u think.

Femke

This man used all the good words and now I cannot write a review. My words won't do it justice. Sorry. 

Seriously, just read this. It's very good.

Jen Estrella

I loved everything, especially these two. 

Why Did You Leave?
Because 
you wouldn't let me
love both of us
at the same time.Vanish
They will push you away, tell you
to leave, but have no idea how good
you are at following instructions. 
When you vanish, but your ghost
becomes a guest they cannot get rid of 
and the memory of you plays
resurrection with their smile, 
they will ask you where you went, 
if you will come back and why
you gave up so easily, 
as if they didn't own the voice
that requested your disappearance. 
They now know solitude does not 
scare people like us
and our absence is something
that we are not afraid to give
to those who call for it.

Daisy Nicholls 

Wait a second I’m just gonna stay up another hour and reread this book and write down every quote and send to everyone I know. This was impeccable, even though some of the poems went over my head the majority of them stabbed me right in the heart. This is a modern poetry collection that doesn’t feel like an old uncle trying to be “cool with the kids” it’s just effortlessly relatable. Ruby really unfolds what it is to be human in a witty and though provoking way, he discusses everything from how it feels to have a crush on a girl in a coffee shop to how it feels to be a black man in a racist society. Highly recommend!

Kohana

Wow. This book was so beautiful and it is filled with such amazing and personal poems. I’m so amazed. I had to put down the book so many times just so the words could sink in. 
I loved every poem in here.

Ariel Himboi

I went on a little binge read on NetGalley ( a fantastic place to read somewhat unknown ARCS to give reviews on ) and found this stunning gem. I went into this piece of literature thinking it would be a light read with educating patches here and there to win me over. What I did not expect was to be up at one in the morning, bawling my eyes out and frantically highlighting every poem I read with a bright "THATS ME" sign. 

Rudy is a fantastic author who has a skill for using language that I haven't seen or been spellbound by in three years. His way of voicing his feelings ( specifically his grief, pain, and loss ) is both tragic and baffling it has left me breathless several times. 

I must say that the only point in which I felt let down was toward the second part of the collection. In my bastardy opinion I felt a little disappointed by some of the "love" poems that he had written. They were brilliant but maybe not to my particular taste. Otherwise, despite feeling like a short story, this collection was spectacularly written.

I would like to go over some of my favorite, and personally private and similar to my own voice, poems as well as the few that I absolutely must mention. The mentioned poems are usually the ones where every word was a gift and it was more than I could handle and therefor I must recommend the whole poem rather than just a stanza. 

DULY NOTED AND FANTASTIC:
1. Page 262, Mess
2. Page 339, Museum
3. Page 403, Chameleon
4. Page 510, Adrenaline Rush
5. Page 563, To The Man Standing on the Corner Holding the Sign That Said "God Hates Gays"
6. Page 605, Rifle II
7. Page 722, Mercy
8. Page 746, Cookout
0. Page 786, Complainers
and 
10. The last page, Yes


Now I would like "lightly" go over specific poems that spoke to me.

1. Page 120, My Honest Poem

"I've been told that I give really bad hugs.
People say it feels like I'm trying to escape.
Sometimes it's because I am."

"I get really nervous every time someone
gets close enough to hear me breathe."

I can not even begin to explain why this was the first that I highlighted upon first read 
( I will be reading these again ). 
His words at first are very straightforward and they are so terribly honest and real that I can't
begin to wonder why I feel like there is so much more he wants to say, that he's holding back. I feel
that every time I read a poem, after turning a page, there is a feeling of loss. I know there is more.
More brutal honesty. I want to hear all of his thoughts come to life no matter how painful. 

2. Page 135

"Sometimes, I wonder what my bedsheets
say about me when I'm not around."

To feel so self conscious of an inanimate object, something that could not mock you or torment you
but at the same time be a constant reminder of your insecurity.. it briefly made me think for a moment, to gather myself in thought, "What are my bedsheets saying about me?"


3. Page 142

"I've never been in the military,
but I have a purple heart:
I got it from beating myself up
over things that I can't fix."

And, 

"Somedays I forget that my skin
is not a panic room."

An excellent, thoughtful choice of words.

4. Page 175, Sip

The entire poem sniped me from my back and straight through my chest and left me bleeding for dead. A masterpiece if I've ever seen one. Mostly because I can read this and say "Me too."
( I really hate coffee. )

and lastly, page 250. "When People Ask How I'm Doing."
Ya'll just need to read this.

Also I couldn't help but think that if they did slam poetry or Poetry Out Loud for senior year, that I would totally memorize every single page of this book. 

I'd probably win.

9/10, could have been a 5 star but towards the middle I fell out of it a little. A definite must read and automatic favorite.

Give it a read!

Maria Sales

Don’t know of I’ll keep the star rating bc I don’t know how to rate poetry BUT I really liked this!

Helium

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