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NOT A LOT OF REASONS TO SING, BUT ENOUGH

$18.00$20.00

Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre, 2022

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guantesolo
04/02/23
One more reminder that it's the one-year anniversary of the book this poem is from, NOT A LOT OF REASONS TO SING, BUT ENOUGH, and that ButtonPoetry is offering a sale from Wednesday March 29 - Sunday April 2. 50% off Paperbacks, eBooks, and Audiobooks. Signed Paperbacks available too! Use the code GUANTE50. Thank you!⁣ ⁣ CITY OF HEART⁣ Steal to eat. Distribute banned critiques⁣ of the hoarders and exploiters via hand-⁣ copied leaflet. Break a bully’s face and⁣ laugh. It is so easy to do the right thing⁣ and find yourself on the wrong side of⁣ the Law. Like the street we all know that⁣ separates the bad side of the city from⁣ the side (they say) you’re not allowed on.⁣ Right or wrong is poetry; legal or illegal⁣ is math: an equation with one answer,⁣ black-or-white, like so much of their little⁣ world. To them, you are either inside or⁣ outside the cage. Either citizen or non-⁣ citizen, male or female, I or not-I. Streets⁣ run either north-south or east-west: it’s⁣ how they were built, how it’s always been.⁣ Remember then, when you run: where⁣ you love this city, your pursuers will only⁣ ever love its map, the straight lines and⁣ borders, the twin nightsticks of x-axis⁣ and y-axis. Climb up a wall, disappear.⁣ ⁣ [Image: First slide is a photo of the text from the book, transcribed above. Second slide is a promo graphic featuring the text "cheers to 1-year; signed copies and 50% off paperbacks, ebooks and audiobooks" + a quote "I have never read a book more slowly because every word seems to demand its own moment" - Trung Le Nguyen. Along with a photo of "not a lot of reasons to sing, but enough."]⁣ ⁣ #ButtonAuthors #IndieReads #ButtonPoetry #Guante #KyleTranMyhre #Poem #PoetryBook #NotALotOfReasonsToSingButEnough #IndieAuthor #SpokenWord #NationalPoetryMonth
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guantesolo
03/31/23
It's the one-year anniversary of my book! Once again, endless thanks to everyone who's already picked up a copy, read it, left a review, or just has it on display to look cool. I'm cheating on this #RecommendedReading and advocating for my own work, but I'm sure no one cares. Just a second push for the current SALE that's running on my book over at ButtonPoetry's web store. 50% off Paperbacks, eBooks, and Audiobooks. Signed Paperbacks available too! Use the code GUANTE50. The sale runs from Wednesday March 29 - Sunday April 2. ⁣Check the book anniversary link in my linktree. ⁣ [Image: a promo graphic featuring a photo of KTM and a photo of the book, along with the text One-Year Anniversary Sale + 50% off Paperbacks, eBooks, and Audiobooks. Signed copies available. Use the code GUANTE50"]
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guantesolo
03/29/23
What's your favorite writing advice? What's your *least* favorite?⁣ ⁣ For my answers to those questions, check out this FULL chapter/section from my book, a dialogue between a handful of characters on a panel discussion sharing "advice" for aspiring writers. It's called "All Advice is Bad Advice, Including the Advice that All Advice is Bad Advice" and you can read it NOW via the link in my linktree.⁣ ⁣ On one level, it's a funny (well, I know I wrote it, but I think it is) little one-act play about common bits of writing advice and how to approach them with maybe a little bit more nuance than considering them ironclad laws. On a deeper level, it's a piece that speaks to one of the book's larger themes: rejecting black-and-white binary ways of thinking via rules and laws, and embracing critical thinking, collectivity, and *contribution* rather than competition. And that's all stuff that I think relates to writing, but also to life beyond writing.⁣ ⁣ ALSO in that link: for the one-year anniversary NOT A LOT OF REASONS TO SING, BUT ENOUGH, ButtonPoetry is offering a sale: 50% off Paperbacks, eBooks, and Audiobooks. Signed Paperbacks available too! Use the code GUANTE50. The sale runs from Wednesday March 29 - Sunday April 2. ⁣ ⁣ [Images: First slide is a photo of a page featuring the text "All Advice is Bad Advice, Including the Advice that All Advice is Bad Advice. The Library of the Road has brought together three professional wordsmiths for a panel discussion on advice for aspiring writers. The three writers, along with a moderator representing the Library, sit on stools inside a communal hall where a few dozen attendees sit on benches. The Library’s traveling collection of texts lines the sides of the hall; a few wanderers browse through the books and scrolls." Second slide is a promo graphic w/ the text "one year anniversary, signed copies available" along with a photo of "not a lot of reasons to sing, but enough." Third slide is a photo of KTM in front of a giant snowbank.]⁣ ⁣ #ButtonAuthors #IndieReads #ButtonPoetry #Guante #KyleTranMyhre #Poem #PoetryBook #NotALotOfReasonsToSingButEnough #IndieAuthor #SpokenWord
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guantesolo
03/10/23
The first anniversary of "Not a Lot of Reasons to Sing, But Enough" is coming up this month. First, THANK YOU so much to everyone who has already picked up a copy, whether via ButtonPoetry, at a local bookstore, at a performance of mine, as an audio book, or whatever.⁣ ⁣ Second, just a note that reader reviews, even just a sentence or two, really do make a difference, and really do mean a lot. Please consider leaving a review on Button's store page, which you can get to via the "my book" link in my linktree).⁣ ⁣ A few samples:⁣ ⁣ "Raced to the mailbox to unwrap my new copy when I got home from work, and read it all in one sitting. What an amazing piece of art that melds sci-fi with social justice, story telling with poetry, and just leaves you feeling invigorated. Such a unique piece that really spoke to me." - Cehill16⁣ ⁣ "As a fan of dystopian worlds and scifi, I loved the unique setting, a future society of Earth's outcasts surviving on the moon. But the morals and lessons are very much of the world we know now. He artfully crafts tales of counter-narratives that left me in deep thought about our world, how we got here, where we're heading, and how we can help or hinder the process." - Amanda⁣ ⁣ "The poems themselves are beautiful and thoughtful and relatable and whimsical and honest, and they touched me. I haven’t had a lot of reason to sing lately, but this book was one, and that was enough." - Shoshana B.⁣ ⁣ Thank you!⁣ ⁣ [Images: first slide is a photo of KTM/Guante holding up a copy of "not a lot of reasons to sing, but enough." Second slide is a collage of screenshot of the quotes above, along with the text "please feel free to leave a review."]
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egyptoknuckles
12/16/22
When matoswk75 asked if I’d be willing to contribute a short piece for thecurrent’s Holiday Gift Guide about music books with local content, I was equal parts honored and nervous. matoswk75 has not only been one of the first music writers who inspired me early on, but he was also the first to enjoy my piece about Prince on cassette, one of the very starting pieces I wrote for thecurrent. It’s a full circle moment, y’all! During the summer, I got to catch up with guantesolo for a future thing I’m working on, and he sent me a copy of “Not A Lot of Reasons to Sing, But Enough,” his second book for buttonpoetry. I finally got time to sit down with it, and it provided me with a reshifting of purpose and perspective as to why I write, create, and do all the things. Gives me great joy to recommend this book, along with contributions and recommendations by matoswk75 thedylanhicks and more for thecurrent’s Holiday Gift Guide about music books with local content! Check it out via the link in my bio, and purchase guantesolo’s “Not A Lot of Reasons to Sing, But Enough” via buttonpoetry, out now!
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yptaylor_poetry
07/13/22
New autographed books came in! I’m so excited to read them. #books #poetry
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outerdepthsmusic
07/02/22
Ordered a new book from buttonpoetry a couple days ago and super happy to see how fast it made it here. guantesolo been a huge inspiration to me for a long time now and this is the first book I've gotten from him. I think he only has 2 ? And I think this one's new? Anyways I'm hyped to read this. . . . Random quote: "The day after superman died, everyone stopped looking up in the sky.. and started looking down at the ground like 'We have been heroes here this whole time'"
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guantesolo
06/23/22
If you haven’t picked up “not a lot of reasons to sing, but enough” yet, you can get a *signed copy* from either moonpalacebooks here in MPLS, or online from buttonpoetry itself!⁣ ⁣ It’s an anti-authoritarian sci-fi poetry book. Lots of examples from it here on my grid.⁣ ⁣ And if you have picked it up, thank you. If you have a moment to leave a review on Button’s store page, it’s a small thing that means a lot. Thanks again!⁣ ⁣ [image: a photo of KTM/Guante standing outside Moon Palace Books’ outdoor pickup window, holding a copy of “not a lot of reasons to sing, but enough” and smiling]
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guantesolo
06/17/22
Thanks so much to litbowl for sharing this quote from my book! There are a lot of accounts that share poems and excerpts on IG, and they're one of the good ones.⁣ ⁣ The quote here is from a poem called “Poem for the First Day of the Poetry Unit in Language Arts Class” and you can find the full text and video in my linktree. It's a piece about, among other things, *why* we study poetry in school; hint: it isn't so that everyone can grow up to be famous, published poets. There's deeper work being done.⁣ ⁣ Text of the quote (with a minor revision; how I've been performing it lately): ⁣ ⁣ "And the poem you will write does not have to be the first step on your illustrious career as a professional poet. The poem does not have to 'save' anyone. The poem does not even have to be good. Let it be honest, and let that be enough. Let it say this is who I am, this is what I believe, and this is the community I represent—and let that fill as much space as it can, rise off the ground, and meet the sky."⁣ ⁣ buttonpoetry #ButtonPoetry #SpokenWord #Poetry #Poem #poet #PoetsOfIG #SlamPoetry
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bchristianpoet
05/01/22
When the latest book from a fellow poet you admire arrives, then it starts raining. Looks like I’m going to relax with a book while my gf does cross stitch. #poetsofinstagram #poetry #poetrycommunity #slampoet #slampoetry #hero #guante #bottonpoetry
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ladyinreadwrites
04/19/22
For the letter N in the A2Z challenge, I feature the poetic form called Nove Otto and two books The Book: Not a Lot of Reasons to Sing, but Enough by Kyle Tran Myhre guantesolo featuring artwork by Casper Pham marcheries and published by ButtonPoetry (Teen and older) Thanks to NetGalley for the digital review copy What it is: Kyle Tran Myhre’s NOT A LOT OF REASONS TO SING, BUT ENOUGH is a sci-fi-flavored exploration of the role that art and artists play in resisting authoritarianism. Featuring new poems, theater elements, and Casper Pham‘s stunning visual art, the book follows two wandering poets as they make their way from village to village, across a prison colony moon full of exiled rebels, robots, and storytellers. Part post-apocalyptic road journal, part alternate universe ode to Hip Hop, and part “Letters to a Young Poet”-style toolkit for emerging poets and aspiring movement-builders, it’s also a one-of-a-kind practitioners’ take on poetry, power, and possibility. My thoughts: I am loving how Myhre subtly weaves in lessons on poetry while touching upon so many of the issues we face in today’s society (but set in a futuristic dystopian society) all while adding strong threads of hope and positivity throughout. You can read my post at https://bit.ly/3EtosCO for my complete thoughts about this book and the poetic choice for the letter #NotaLotofReasonstoSingButEnough #buttonpoetry #kyletranmyhre #poetry #ladyinreadwrites #NationalPoetryMonth #bookreviewblog #readingismagic #buttonpoetry
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guantesolo
04/15/22
For the middle of #NationalPoetryMonth, two quick notes:⁣ ⁣ 1. It's ButtonPoetry's 11th anniversary, and they're having a big (50% off!) sale for today only (4/15/22). If you've been thinking of getting my book, today is definitely the best day to do it. And while you're there, be sure to check out the many, many other cool books from a fantastic roster of poets. http://bit.ly/ButtonBDay22⁣ ⁣ 2. The quote here is from my book, "Not a Lot of Reasons to Sing, but Enough," and it aligns with something that's come up in a lot of conversations recently, especially after the release of "poem for the first day of the poetry unit in language arts class" (which you can find via my linktree). It's about *why* we study poetry in school in the first place. It isn't to make every student into a great poet. It isn't just because it's good practice for other kinds of communication. The book (and that specific poem) goes further down that rabbit hole, but I think this quote is a piece of the puzzle.⁣ ⁣ [Image text: "We must bring our imaginations to bear. Pool them together as a hundred different pigments create a black from which anything could emerge. Because action and imagination are not opposites. Personal and universal are not opposites. Urgency and intentionality are not opposites." Words by KTM aka Guante. Art by Casper Pham aka marcheries. Second image in carousel is a photo of KTM, wearing a mask, holding up a copy of his book. Third image is a promo graphic with the text "50% off Button Books & Merch; code: GOSHORTY"]
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kimmyslostchill
04/04/22
Not a Lot of Reasons to Sing, But Enough Review! As someone who loves both dystopia and poetry, I was absolutely delighted to stumble across a book that combines the two. Of course, tie in memory deletion and you basically have the recipe for my perfect book. Unfortunately though...all the proper ingredients doesn't ensure the perfect execution. The foundation of the story is that a bunch of robots and humans have been exiled to the moon, and while they still have all their vocabulary from before, they can't remember anything else. We then explore some past and present of life on this planet with some poets who travel and help encourage others with writing. More or less. Honestly the worst part was just everyone's opinions and views were just so completely, blindly one-sided that it made everyone one dimensional. People, with wiped memories, were just caricatures of “good” and “bad” but just inherently believed their views without question or discussion. Boring. I can absolutely see WHY the author did all this and the points and beliefs definitely came across. It just made it all so one dimensional though to have everything so black and white. Where's the friction and inner turmoil and depth?! That said...I highlighted a ton of lines in this book. It was thought provoking. I was absolutely aching to write afterwards and enjoyed how there were even writing prompts in the end. I'm kind of not sure how to even rate this. There parts I loved but a lot I hated. Can’t win them all I suppose. Big thanks to netgalley and buttonpoetry for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is out now if you’re intrigued and want to check it out yourself. QOTD: What are you reading this week?
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paper.back.reader
03/26/22
Not a lot of reasons to sing, but enough by Kyle Tran Myhre ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I am looking to get into poetry, and while browsing NetGalley for some I saw this one was also sci-fi so it immediately stood out to me. As soon as I started reading I saw it was not what I imagined poetry to be, no obscure short rhyming poems, but a collection of hard hitting essays (a few of which did rhyme) with a matching sci-fi setting. We follow two poets, a robot and a human as they travel between villages on the moon, where exiled humans created a new society after their memories were erased. But they are no regular poets. They believe their art can be used to create movements, rebellions and influence politics. This book is a commentary on the pandemic, social justice, gender inequality and human nature. Felt even like a call to action. I very much enjoyed the educational passages about how to write a poem. The author is a Hip Hop performer and it was very interesting to see how he incorporated the scene into his work. Also the illustrations were excellent. Highly recommended if you care about social issues and are interested in influential art. ❓Have you read any books on the subject of social justice? Or any poetry you recommend?
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bookstagramofmine
03/12/22
But good people: Revenge is more than spite. I do not peddle simple
spite; it's only spite when the war is over. And our wars rage.

So rage back, my friends. Buy a bag of spiders today, and rage back. I can only describe this book as odd and extraordinary! At the start, I wasn't sure I would like this, and I couldn't understand the setting; we're listening to a robot whose memories were recovered from a post-apocalyptic world, and as we do so we follow 2 poets traveling across the said world, as poet-bards. I'm not clear on that bit, and I will need to read the start again. Either way, Myhre uses that setting to explore racism, homophobia, poetry, sexism, and violence without naming names. This setting gives him a lot of freedom to explore things, for example, 'Revenge is the best Success' is a great poem, but works even better in this setting rather than a more standard book of poems. The poems on Hen March are great, but an entire book on Hen March may not have worked the way these poems in this setting did and how they made us switch between the past and the present. I also loved how the poets cross paths with so many unreasonable people and are brushed aside every time they speak the truth; it's indicative of not only the role art has in our lives but also of how truth still exists, someone does still speak it, even when it looks like the majority doesn't agree with it. I also really appreciate Myhre’s poetry because it sounds really lovely to read out loud. I'm not a big fan of poetry that doesn’t sound right when you read it out loud. I hate that. This isn’t like that, which I love! And if you’re wondering why you should buy a bag of spiders, hit the link in my bio to read the poem in question! #QOTD: What’s your favourite NetGalley book? #bookstagramofmine #book #books #poetrybook #netgalley #arc #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer #buttonpoetry #KyleGuanteTranMyhre #poet #modernpoetry #poetryquotes #poetryexcerpt #bookblogger #bookblogger #bookstagrampak #bookstagrampakistan #bookish #booklove #bookreviews #bookreviewsofinstagram #bookstagram #bookdragon #booklover #bookreader
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guantesolo
01/27/22
of what future are these the wild, early days?⁣ ⁣ [image: a box full of books with the title “NOT A LOT OF REASONS TO SING, BUT ENOUGH,” by Kyle Tran Myhre, featuring art by Casper Pham. The book’s cover features an illustration of a dark green robot, looking skyward and singing]
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Description

Kyle Tran Myhre’s NOT A LOT OF REASONS TO SING, BUT ENOUGH is a sci-fi-flavored exploration of the role that art and artists play in resisting authoritarianism.

Featuring new poems, theater elements, and Casper Pham‘s stunning visual art, the book follows two wandering poets as they make their way from village to village, across a prison colony moon full of exiled rebels, robots, and storytellers.

Part post-apocalyptic road journal, part alternate universe ode to Hip Hop, and part “Letters to a Young Poet”-style toolkit for emerging poets and aspiring movement-builders, it’s also a one-of-a-kind practitioners’ take on poetry, power, and possibility.

Praise for Kyle Tran Myhre

This collection is a clear, fantastical, urgent excavation of the self and the crumbling pillars of the structures that surround us. Wondrous language underscores an unforgettable voyage across creative formats, circling the phenomenons that artists are and can be capable of.

— Blythe Baird, author of If My Body Could Speak

Guante rattles, resists, and reimagines the reach and convention of the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. How we continue to write our hopes, our fears, and our image into every world we build—at times giving new names to oppressive systems we meant to free ourselves from. Not A Lot of Reasons to Sing, but Enough reminds us, especially the artist, that there is no meaningful world-ending without world-building. That our freedom from cycles of violence may exist in the principles of the cypher, the surprise of the arcane, or in the ancient technologies of the classroom, but always at the mouth of our collective brilliance.

— Joseph Capehart, poet & educator

I have never read a book more slowly because every word seems to demand its own moment. Tran Myhre gives us a chance to excavate a lovingly realized bygone world of heroes, thinkers, and poets struggling with the nature of art, justice, and humanity. Pham’s images gorgeously fill in the emotional spaces outlined by the words. In these pages you will find artists and rebels and troublemakers, and they will break your heart wide open.

— Trung Le Nguyen, artist and author of The Magic Fish

About Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre

Kyle Tran Myhre (aka Guante) is a poet and activist whose work explores the relationships between narrative, power, and resistance. He’s performed at the United Nations, contributed to a Grammy-winning album, been a member of two National Poetry… MORE

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