GET YOUR TASTE OF HUSH CANDY ...
Hush Candy, the debut book of poetry by Missy Brownson, is available to order from Broadstone Books.
Reviews of Hush Candy
“Good poems are rarely made by good girls. That’s not talk for polite company, but go ahead, try to deny it, especially when you witness Missy Brownson tear out of the gate with these first poems, each one hell-bent, either sticky with the spittle and grit of childhood or else hot to the touch, spoken by a woman full-grown who—seeing her world undone—stands tall and says, I’m done. Here you have a poet who takes sharp scissors to etiquette manuals and advice columns for ladies; here you have a new kind of Kentucky rising, a voice that instead of hollering blows a kiss, but the kind of kiss with a hiss, a sound that might just be a mouth red and crackling with Pop Rocks—literally, with Hush Candy—or as her poem says, ‘a secret to keep behind the teeth.’ Exquisitely distilled, each of Brownson’s poems is a strong shot, something to down quickly to feel that delightful, dizzying rush.”
- Nickole Brown, author of Sister and Fanny Says
"Hush Candy is a marvelous collection, full of fun, sass, and splendid rebellion. I certainly recognize the times past when, in Missy Brownson’s moving words, I’ve been called to 'slip into the tight skin of the person you give the world,' and thus I’m made all the merrier when these poems prod me to flee the bonds of propriety."
- Kathleen Driskell, author of Blue Etiquette
"Hush Candy brings us a gasping fish, a sexy encounter with an avocado, Pop Rocks, 'a tongue crackling,' fingers 'sticky with rosin,' legs in a 'lingering vibrato,' and a speaker who longs for 'gold stars to fill/the blue-lined horizon' as she learns 'to bend at the waist/without breaking.' But what is most enchanting is, as Eliot wrote, the experience of reading 'with your ear.' We are greeted with sounds like the 'silent ma ma ma,' the 'thrum of…grilled grips,' 'hoodlum heroes on ten-speed steeds,' and 'meat neat and tamed on tines.' This is a heartbreaking collection of a Southern woman trying to find her way while navigating the expectations of a ‘well behaved’ woman. The book succeeds in being, also, hopeful. We are left with a strong voice finding its way within an elegant lyricism. This is a gorgeous first collection for Missy Brownson—one I will recommend often."
- Kelly Moffett, author of A Thousand Wings and Bird Blind
“The most original and, to me, satisfying move Missy Brownson makes in Hush Candy is the interplay between excerpted instructions (used as epigraph) from a 19th -century etiquette book and the contemporary turn the poem takes based on this fusty advice. There are some strong and memorable poems you’ll want to return to often in this wonderful debut.”
- Jeff Worley, 2020 Kentucky Poet Laureate and author of A Little Luck and Driving Late to the Party: The Kansas Poems
"Wow, Hush Candy is just terrific. I'm so impressed with this book ... It feels like a natural update on contemporary Confessionalism, with so much economy of language and attention to sound. I'm definitely recommending it to other readers."
- Carol Guess, author of True Ash and Instructions for Staging
"While reading Hush Candy by Missy Brownson, I was reminded of the gratification of sipping my first bubbly mimosa while at the same time recalling the pleasurable taste of finely aged Kentucky bourbon on the rocks. Missy introduces a style that blends naivete and innocence with maturity and self-reflection that is refreshing and at the same time satisfying. Her first collection of poetry is well overdue, wonderful, and worthy. I can’t wait to read her next book and savor the taste, whatever it might be."
- J.R. Greenwell, author of In a Whirl of Delusion
Original artwork by Jeremy Wooldridge - www.eyedezign.com
“Good poems are rarely made by good girls. That’s not talk for polite company, but go ahead, try to deny it, especially when you witness Missy Brownson tear out of the gate with these first poems, each one hell-bent, either sticky with the spittle and grit of childhood or else hot to the touch, spoken by a woman full-grown who—seeing her world undone—stands tall and says, I’m done. Here you have a poet who takes sharp scissors to etiquette manuals and advice columns for ladies; here you have a new kind of Kentucky rising, a voice that instead of hollering blows a kiss, but the kind of kiss with a hiss, a sound that might just be a mouth red and crackling with Pop Rocks—literally, with Hush Candy—or as her poem says, ‘a secret to keep behind the teeth.’ Exquisitely distilled, each of Brownson’s poems is a strong shot, something to down quickly to feel that delightful, dizzying rush.”
- Nickole Brown, author of Sister and Fanny Says
"Hush Candy is a marvelous collection, full of fun, sass, and splendid rebellion. I certainly recognize the times past when, in Missy Brownson’s moving words, I’ve been called to 'slip into the tight skin of the person you give the world,' and thus I’m made all the merrier when these poems prod me to flee the bonds of propriety."
- Kathleen Driskell, author of Blue Etiquette
"Hush Candy brings us a gasping fish, a sexy encounter with an avocado, Pop Rocks, 'a tongue crackling,' fingers 'sticky with rosin,' legs in a 'lingering vibrato,' and a speaker who longs for 'gold stars to fill/the blue-lined horizon' as she learns 'to bend at the waist/without breaking.' But what is most enchanting is, as Eliot wrote, the experience of reading 'with your ear.' We are greeted with sounds like the 'silent ma ma ma,' the 'thrum of…grilled grips,' 'hoodlum heroes on ten-speed steeds,' and 'meat neat and tamed on tines.' This is a heartbreaking collection of a Southern woman trying to find her way while navigating the expectations of a ‘well behaved’ woman. The book succeeds in being, also, hopeful. We are left with a strong voice finding its way within an elegant lyricism. This is a gorgeous first collection for Missy Brownson—one I will recommend often."
- Kelly Moffett, author of A Thousand Wings and Bird Blind
“The most original and, to me, satisfying move Missy Brownson makes in Hush Candy is the interplay between excerpted instructions (used as epigraph) from a 19th -century etiquette book and the contemporary turn the poem takes based on this fusty advice. There are some strong and memorable poems you’ll want to return to often in this wonderful debut.”
- Jeff Worley, 2020 Kentucky Poet Laureate and author of A Little Luck and Driving Late to the Party: The Kansas Poems
"Wow, Hush Candy is just terrific. I'm so impressed with this book ... It feels like a natural update on contemporary Confessionalism, with so much economy of language and attention to sound. I'm definitely recommending it to other readers."
- Carol Guess, author of True Ash and Instructions for Staging
"While reading Hush Candy by Missy Brownson, I was reminded of the gratification of sipping my first bubbly mimosa while at the same time recalling the pleasurable taste of finely aged Kentucky bourbon on the rocks. Missy introduces a style that blends naivete and innocence with maturity and self-reflection that is refreshing and at the same time satisfying. Her first collection of poetry is well overdue, wonderful, and worthy. I can’t wait to read her next book and savor the taste, whatever it might be."
- J.R. Greenwell, author of In a Whirl of Delusion
Original artwork by Jeremy Wooldridge - www.eyedezign.com