Failure by Jimmy Broccoli

There are books (or, music) you hear about, whispered along the metaphorical hallways or along the pages of social media. The ones you eagerly await in the mail, watching every day until it finally arrives.

This is that book. I was so excited for this that I read it within a two day window and then reread it, slowly, absorbing the words on every page. Failure is a best of collection of poetry independently published in May by Jimmy Broccoli; containing pieces from his previous books Damaged, Rabbits and Boy.

I have read numerous pieces posted to social media of Jimmy’s work, but this was my first introduction to a collection of his. And what a collection it is! Having not yet read his past works, I can’t say which piece went where originally, only that it flows wonderfully together in this collection. It tells a story of addiction, pain, struggling, loss, grief and hope. More than one poem left me speechless, Jimmy’s story is a true one of finding your way out of the dark and sharing it with the world in a touching and heartfelt way.

Separated into four chapters, Purple, Grey, Red and Yellow, much of it details the pain of both grief from losing someone close and battling addiction. With the very first poem Close I could feel the longing, the unrequited love on the page, like it was my own. And that’s the true beauty in story telling, being able to tell our stories in a way that others feel like they’re theirs while reading them. That’s exactly what Jimmy does.

From beautifully touching pieces like He Sits on a Metal Chair, Like a Man, in My Dining Room to the absolute devastation that is A Shepherd Tied to a Fence and Left to Die, this collection evokes every emotion from joy to despair and everything in between.

From the pain of loving someone slowly dying to finding ways to continue living after a horrible loss, each and every piece is masterfully crafted and wonderfully written. A Shampoo Bottle - A Motherfucking Shampoo Bottle, and It Never Really Leaves You are two of the most relatable poems I’ve ever read (It Never Really Leaves You is not about loss), and the poem The Mother and The Child was one of the stand out poems, which as a reader who felt each and every piece was absolutely brilliant, was hard to determine which ones to list. It was so very raw, and sad but also touching that it stayed with me after reading it.

Jimmy Broccoli is a true artist, his words are raw, real, and very powerful. They will make you feel, and at times may make you cry but you will not regret reading this book.

Letting someone into your innermost thoughts and struggles is not an easy task, yet he does it with grace and vulnerability.

This is truly a wonderfully touching, and very real, collection of poems told in a brilliant way by a master storyteller. You will not find another poet who writes quite the same way Jimmy Broccoli does and I mean that in the best way. This is one of those must have books, I promise you’ll be happy you read it.

You can find a copy of Failure here https://a.co/d/09ZlV02h