Best fiction podcast gold award winner, Miss Experience White is an illustrated, surrealistic political poem cycle about destroying the demon of white supremacy and dealing with white privilege.
The book version, with 20 full color illustrations in different styles by Berkeley artist John Seabury, is designed to look like a children’s book but made for adults. Using a variety of accessible poetic forms, Johnson reveals how Whites like herself with deep ancestral roots in the U.S. might work through feelings of shame, discomfort, and ambivalence to transform them into positive, constructive actions.
The dramatic podcast version won several awards in 2022 including a Signal Gold Award for Best Fiction in a Limited Series and a w3 Silver Award for Cause Awareness in a Miniseries.
As described in the Introduction, Johnson began writing obsessively in 2018 when she saw what Donald Trump was bringing out in many White people and the harm it was causing to so many others.
The Prologue begins:
“In 2016 / The reptiles ate my cousins / But that was Florida / I thought I was safe here”
In Part I, “Vision & Revelation,” Miss Experience White clumsily summons the demon of white supremacy, Tyrannosaurus Wonderbread, and his Pearly White Retinue, calling them out with the best of intentions. In the satirical poem “Reptile Show,” some of these monsters bear a resemblance to living political figures-and one family in particular. These magical exploits lead her to a harsh and heroic realization.
Part II, “Bonfire of the Ancestors,” chronicles the roots and growth of white supremacy and privilege in her ancestral lines. By purifying her historical awareness, Experience creates a clear warrior consciousness to fight Wonderbread and win. Johnson spent months researching her own ancestry for this epic poem. Exclusively for the book, Johnson added the appendix, “Your Fire Goes Here: How to Do Your Own Bonfire of the Ancestors,” a set of instructions for a fire purification ritual created for Americans with problematic ancestors.
Part III, “The Other Feast,” begins with “Thanksgiving with the Whites,” the familiar family fight over politics expressed as a war of limericks. Next comes the phantasmagoric battle to defeat Tyrannosaurus Wonderbread and his Retinue juxtaposed against real-life stories about othering and recognizing privilege. Is the core of the White American experience a fundamental fear of change? Or perhaps a seed of enlightenment demanding we evolve?
Miss Experience White: A Poem Cycle is an incredibly unique poetry book I was excited to discover and a book I was eager to get lost in! As a poetry lover, I always love to find new poetry books; however sadly many can not be that great or original but Miss Experience White is definitely this. As soon as I started to read Miss Experience White, I knew this was going to be an incredible read that would not only entertain but provoke your thoughts and make you want to enact change.
That is why I am so happy to have read Miss Experience White and why I am so excited to be sharing it with you today! As it is a poetry book that should not be missed. That is why I already recommend this book to you lovely readers, however, if you need more convincing, then continue to read to learn more!
Miss Experience White is an incredible illustrated poem cycle, which is both surreal and political and confronts white supremacy and explores white privilege throughout. Written by Milo Starr Johnson and featuring artwork by John Seabury, the book uses accessible poetic forms to help readers understand and transform feelings of shame and discomfort into positive action. The reader throughout will be granted with stories that will provoke your thoughts and leave a lasting impact on you, and this book lovers is the short premise of the incredible Miss Experience White!
The poems laced throughout Miss Experience White are so brilliant and deeply thought-provoking that I have not been able to stop thinking about them. This poetry book really stands out amongst the others because it is a rare find with a rare premise that you will not regret getting lost in.
I have read a lot of poems in my time, especially since a young age but never have I ever been so provoked in different ways by the ones in Miss Experience White, as I felt they really did capture a wide range of emotions which is hard for a poet to accomplish. However, Milo Starr Johnson accomplishes this with her mesmerising prose and unique poems.
Overall Miss Experience White is a sensational, unique, and thought-provoking poetry book that should not be missed so I, of course, have to award this stellar book five stars! So please, have a read of Miss Experience White and get lost in the captivating and brilliant words of Milo Starr Johnson!
Thank you so much for reading book lovers! I appreciate it so much.
Goodbye for now book lovers,
P.S. Below I have attached some links about the author and this wonderful book so if you would like to learn more about the author and the book then please have a browse. Thank you so much again for reading book lovers!
Amazon US – Amazon UK – Goodreads
Author: Website – Facebook – Facebook Artist Page – Instagram
