This is an unsolicited book review of Chicken Soup and a Shot of Jack by Clarence Barbee, aka @former402poet. (Full disclosure: I know the author through social media, but he did not ask me to write this review, and I purchased the book on Amazon at regular price.) Chicken Soup and a Shot of Jack is available on Amazon in print paperback and Kindle e-reader formats.

Introspective and Relevant

I really enjoyed this book, and reading it brought me a newfound respect for the author. Throughout this collection of poems and short essays, Barbee reveals himself to be a thoughtful, introspective person. His reflections and personal anecdotes touch on many of the most important themes of our modern lives: issues of race, matters of love, and concerns of personal growth and development.

The issues of race and racism in modern America, which Barbee discusses in several pieces, are perhaps the most relevant to current events. However, he succeeds in turning these pieces into deeply personal reflections (rather than partisan rants of the type I personally have been known to write on occasion).

Relatable and Authentic

The collection opens with an essay titled “The Human Collective,” which considers the shared experience of our common humanity and our modern culture. Despite our differences, we all are familiar with the sights, sounds, and feelings that Barbee artistically describes.

This is followed by a humorous personal anecdote from childhood titled “Just Had to be Grown,” which is a tribute to the author’s mother and a considered recollection of a memorable early learning experience, told in the rolling cadence of a dialect voice which brings the storytelling to the fore and makes the written format recede, as though the author were sitting in the room with you, telling the story over dinner and drinks, with music and laughter in the background.

After this the collection considers serious topics: the prison-industrial complex and mass incarceration; the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and the tragic recurring violence that inspired it, including the police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri that sparked demonstrations and civil unrest.

These poignant and thoughtful pieces are interspersed with lighthearted humor, such as a memorable poem simply called “#Poetry,” which I interpreted as a humorous commentary on the life of an author in the hashtag-laden world of social media.

This effective blend of thoughtful commentary, personal anecdotes, and humor are continued through the rest of the pieces in the book: poems and short essays on such diverse and relatable themes as child rearing in modern society; the problematic nature of emotions; modern technology and communication in the information age; interpersonal relationships; hope, sorrow, idealism, regret; and the nature of time itself.

Conclusion

I enjoyed this thoughtful collection of essays and poems, and I think you will, too. You can purchase Chicken Soup and a Shot of Jack by Clarence “Poet402” Barbee online from Amazon.com, currently starting at the low price of just $3.99 for the Kindle edition.