THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
THE POETRY SHELF/WISCONSIN BOOKWATCH

Critics of Mystery Marvel
Volume 14, Number 2, February 2019

Critics of Mystery Marvel: Collected Poems is Youssef Alaoui’s debut full-length poetry collection, which explores human relationships between individuals, cultures, races, and genders. He deftly utilizes archaic tones to formulate an artistic approach to metaphor in verse, creating images that appear wholly in the mind and not on the page. This collective anthology consists of ten sections that explores Alaoui’s family and heritage, an endless source of inspiration for his varied, dark, spiritual and carnal writings. Blending surrealism, magical realism, and language alchemy, Alaoui explores the human mythos of love, poverty, politics, racism, and war. A few of the poems are written in French and Spanish, translated to English. Showcasing post-beat verse from the San Francisco Bay area and the Big-Sur, Critics of Mystery Marvel: Collected Poems touches the depth of the soul with poetry that is metaphorically luminous. While very highly recommended, especially for community, college, and university library Contemporary Poetry collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that Critics of Mystery Marvel: Collected Poems is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.99).