A Bright and Borrowed Light

A Bright and Borrowed Light is described by Ocean Vuong as a kaleidoscopic and finely-tuned voice full of acuity, wit, intelligence and, perhaps most importantly, a deep and defiant love for a world burning at its edges. I am so grateful to have come upon this true poet.

This is a gorgeous collection of poems exploring womanhood, sisterhood, love, loss, and longing. It appeals to people who find catharsis in poems, or those who have always wanted to read poetry, but don’t know where to start.

“How little / love is. How worth everything.” Such is the central theme of Courtney Kampa’s sharp yet tender “Skin and Other Weapons.” This poem is part of a collection of beautiful, intimate works examining the shared experiences that make us human. Courtney herself was the kind of person who made life better just for knowing her, and although she tragically passed in 2022, her work carries her brilliance and light forward. While she is no longer here, her husband Will Anderson notes that converting readers to poetry was one of her greatest joys, and this collection will make a convert of any reader.

Courtney wrote for the girls she was raised with and the women she was raised by. She wrote for herself—which is to say, she wrote for so many of us. In “Cartography,” a group of friends dissects the end of a relationship with a woman who, through the telling, becomes “meaner now, and / more beautiful.” In “The Rules” she writes “I don’t believe in girlhood. I don’t believe / we are ever small, or ever don’t know what it is / we shouldn’t know,” challenging the sweetness and innocence constantly attributed to little girls who live in a world that is neither sweet nor innocent. In “The Cool Kids,” the speaker, desperate to belong but horrified by what her peers require of her, wonders “if this is what it feels like / to be pinned down by the sky.”

Individually, each of these poems feels like advice from a friend who knows you deeply, providing a sense of comfort and validation. Taken as a whole, the collection tells a larger story of growth—of the love and loss involved—and learning how to exist in the world. As accessible as they are transcendent, these poems will leave readers feeling as if they have been “anointed with a bright and borrowed light.”