"If “free” is a concept that comprises the “healthiest of human abstractions,” KB’s Freedom House is a book of optimism and transformation, though not easily. The newness of the world that KB’s poems render over the course of their transition is heartening. Freedom House’s Texas-residing KB is a poet who is sharply attuned to the racial, environmental, social, and economic manifestations of systemic injustice, and politics they critique in themselves just as sharply. Realizing the optics of their transition enables a realm of privilege that they recognize as attached to a legacy of conduct that has been toxic to them and the people they love. However, such realizations are triumphs put alongside the joy found throughout Freedom House. For every daunting item, there’s a confident and brighter speculation to smile about and hold close."

- Dustin Pearson, author of A Season in Hell with Rimbaud

“Freedom House is a deeply-felt inventory of our present catastrophes: anti-blackness, climate change, trans antagonism, state violence, organized abandonment, etc. At the same time, Freedom House is an insistence on and a yearning toward a form of life that exceeds these terms, life as sensuality, as healing, as the absence of threat, as room enough. A formally inventive, witty yet earnest, straight-talking yet sly poet, KB Brookins here wields every tool at their disposal — the “masters’ tools” and the tools of their own making — to craft a dwelling space for the fullness of Black, trans, queer life to manifest.”

- Cameron Awkward-Rich, author of Sympathetic Little Monster and Dispatch

“Believable, rich, and truthful. A real beacon of light.”

- Shayla Lawson, author of This is Major, a National Book Critics Circle Finalist

“Brookins’s debut full-length collection explores what it really means to be free in America, particularly as a Black, queer, trans writer living in Texas; their writing style is urgent and timely while still holding space for the possibility of a life lived on one’s own terms.”

- Emma Specter, Vogue

“Unfolding in four parts titled after areas of a house, these stunning poems of Brookins transport readers to 2029, to the gynecologist, and to the moon. Delving into desire, gender identity, loss, and violence, this book absorbed my attention.”

- Connie Pan, BookRiot

“This inventive collection is an astonishing achievement; Brookins’s poems range from long lyrical verses to gutting erasure poems, and every one is breathtaking.”

- Laura Sackton, Buzzfeed

“Using a clever and unique form that structures the book in four parts named after rooms in a house, Freedom House is not only a discussion of big issues, but a manifestation itself of the free space it calls for for Black, queer, and trans people. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Brookins’s humor, delightfully sprinkled throughout.”

-Casey, Autostraddle

“Freedom House is a remarkably embodied book. Brookins poignantly depicts the physical experience of being trans and of experiencing bodily change. Their poems are visceral and painful and sometimes full of rage. They are also full of youth, lust, pleasure, and hope.”

- Sam Paul, Feminist Book Club

“KB Brookins’ Freedom House is an unapologetic, forward-dreaming manifesto for a better, shared future…Using poetry as a tool of exploration and future dreaming, Brookins builds a freedom house, brick by brick by poem.”

- Chaney Hill, Southern Review of Books

"To hold history in your hands, pain-heavy but hopeful, that is what it is like to read Freedom House by KB Brookins. This collection is a movement, a world in bloom, a freedom house being built before the reader’s eyes as they move section by section, room by room."

- Katherine O'Hara, Honey Literary

“This collection of poetry structures Brookins’ personal journey as a queer Black trans person in Texas as a tour through multiple poetic “rooms.” Pick up for friends who enjoy chewing on what they’ve read long after they shut the book.”

- James Scott, Austin Chronicle

“KB Brookins is a true powerhouse in their forthcoming debut full-length poetry collection.”

- Erica Abbott, Write or Die Magazine

“As politically and socially focused and nuanced as it is, Freedom House is an exploration of the self. Its speaker is confident, bold, and blunt, and the collection stands as a beacon to those in marginalized communities needing inspiration to find their voices.”

- Nicole Yurcaba, Sage Cigarettes Magazine

"[KB] takes you through intimate moments of their gender transition and weaves in musical references, keeping readers engaged and surprised with every turn of a page.”

- Em Norton, In Magazine

“To occupy Freedom House is to do the difficult and delightful work of living that pulls the dream of tomorrow closer and closer to today. “

- Raye Hendrix, Barrelhouse Magazine

“Through rich imagery, deftly-constructed lines, and a gift for narrative pacing, Brookins crafts a compelling collection; as the final wordplay in the poems suggest, Freedom House is a poetic manifestation— and lyric manifesto— of being alive.”

- Nick Ripatrazone, The Millions

“As a whole, Freedom House is emotionally exhausting, which is meant as the highest compliment. Brookins beautifully conveys a wide array of feelings with a straightforwardness and intensity that feels like a physical force, ensuring that their thoughts and experiences are impossible to ignore.”

- Gabriella Smith, Deep South Magazine

“Freedom House is exactly what the title suggests: a house, a manifesto, where Black queer and trans people are truly free, not just to exist, but to thrive.”

- SG Huerta, Chicago Review of Books

“This is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time. There’s so much to love about Brookins’ poetry, and I think this book is an essential read.”

-Nat Raum, Fifth Wheel Press

“Brilliant. Unapologetic. Fire. This book will leave burn marks on your fingers and heart, and it will be so worth it.”

- Lauren Oertel, Lauren O. Reads & Writes

“The poems deal with identity, place, belonging and trauma in a way that shifts from devastating to hopeful, but is always beautifully crafted. There were so many pages that I dogeared…. I loved this collection as much for the moments where I could see myself as for the moments I knew I would never be able to understand.”

- Hillary, Black Walnut Books

“This book is overflowing with inventive forms and sequences that confront the challenges of being Black and trans in America under the shadow of police violence, climate catastrophe, political upheaval, and white supremacy. The poetic voice really shines (so much musicality and intertextuality within Brookins’ lines and images!).”

- Em Holland, Mostly Queer Reads

“This is the one. Especially if you’re Black and queer or want to learn more about Black and queer people, get you a copy.”

- Jacob Jackson (@MidwestsideGunn)