Belizean Poet Launches New Poetry Book–And It couldn’t Have Come at a Better Time 

It feels as though every other Facebook post these days is a new coffee shop announcement. In Orange Walk alone, the opening of a slew of brewing spots over the past several months has the town abuzz. Belize City is hardly behind either, but are all these new businesses just that: business? Or is it about something more? 

It’s no secret that folks yearn for a “third place,” especially in a world starving for connection. Despite being connected digitally to almost every facet of the online world, our souls feel a hunger that no amount of doomscrolling can satisfy. Enter the book clubs, hiking groups, Pilates classes, poetry nights. Belize is slowly starting to fill this void within us–which is why Khaila Gentle’s second poetry book, “Coffee Table Conversations,” couldn’t have come at a better time. 

Gentle released her debut poetry collection, “Crossroads,” to wide acclaim back in 2021. While “Crossroads” was more of a narrative structure with romance and darker themes, “Coffee Table” addresses the disconnect we face among each other. As its name suggests, the collection was inspired by Gentle’s frequent visits to coffee shops across Belize. Whether that’s to have a meeting, hang with friends, or just a third place to enjoy a nice cup of joe while thoughts pour onto a page. 

Gentle mentions that the “loneliness epidemic” and people’s struggle to connect were on her mind as she put together her book. 

“I just kind of found it very interesting how something like coffee could be this kind of avenue or vehicle for people,” Gentle told Deep Scroll. “Both interacting and connecting with each other.”

Wanting it to center on coffee and connection, Gentle toyed with several book titles before settling into the one that graces the cover today. 

She, like many millennials and Gen Z today, recognizes a lack of diverse activities to do in Belize. There are only so many places a young Belizean can frequent before they get lonely or desperate for more. 

“I always joke that the only thing you could do in Belize…is like drink and watch each other,” Gentle jokes. “So every time I see something small that pops up, like my poetry group or Book Club, and things like that, [I get] this inkling of hope.”

With this hope, Gentle was able to put into words what it means for Belizeans to find friendship and connection in places outside of the usual work and home. 

“Every time I see something small that pops up, like my poetry group or Book Club, and things like that, [I get] this inkling of hope.”

When Gentle launched “Coffee Table Conversations” last December on Amazon, it wasn’t her first rodeo. After all, she had also self-published “Crossroads” years prior. However, she admits it was no easy feat. If anything, it proved to be more challenging. 

“I feel like ‘Crossroads’ came a lot more naturally to me,” she said.

She continued, “I know I’ve always heard people say that the second book is always the hardest. I definitely found that to be true with this.”

Gentle said she felt this extra pressure, mostly from herself. As a perfectionist, writing her sophomore collection highlighted the fear many creatives often feel early on in their career: being perceived. 

“You have a fear, and you have the anxiety and you still do it anyway.”

“I want to be better than I was when I first did it, and all the anxieties and stuff about being perceived and wanting to be better at what I do,” she revealed. “So it was so hard. Even now, I find myself struggling sometimes to kind of celebrate, like, ‘Hey, like, I put a book out into the world,’ because I’m still caught up in the like, ‘Oh my god, people are perceiving my work. What do they think?’” 

So how does she overcome this? In short, she doesn’t. 

“You have a fear, and you have the anxiety and you still do it anyway,” she adds, “And hope for the best.”

A major thing that sets “Coffee Table Conversations” apart from “Crossroads” is not only the theme, but also the poetic forms. Gentle experimented with a variety of forms, from Centos and Golden Shovels, to Haikus and the well-known freeform. Needless to say, it involved a ton of research. It eventually paid off, as her favorite piece, “Conversations Between a Lover and a Skeptic,” was one of the most challenging she had to write. 

The piece is a Cento, which is Latin for “patchwork,” so Gentle mainly used love songs to puzzle together a beautiful piece about love and yearning. 

The challenges stemmed far beyond the page, however–writing a book is already in itself no easy thing. Self-publishing a book–and being from Belize, no less–is a Herculean task. Gentle had to teach herself even the overlooked things, like what an ISBN is and how to apply for it. She reveals that the library was a big help when it came to figuring the logistics out. 

“My intention with this book is for it to be something that kind of sparks conversation.”

While the arts in Belize are definitely not lacking, the mass support is just not there yet. Still, it doesn’t keep creatives like Gentle from putting their art out into the world–even if they have to find unconventional ways to do it. 

“My intention with this book is for it to be something that kind of sparks conversation,” Gentle shared. “There’s this thing that’s like, take what you need and leave the rest. So like, if you find a poem that really speaks to you, have a conversation with someone about it.”

“Coffee Table Conversations” may have love, yearning, loneliness, and even poetry “for the senses,” but it doesn’t shy away from the deeper topics like race and identity. 

“Like I say in my introduction,” Gentle concludes, “I want [the book] to be something like a cup of coffee that could be a vehicle for connection.”

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“Coffee Table Conversations” is readily available on Amazon for purchase. To connect with Gentle, she is hosting an official Book Launch on Saturday, Feb. 21, at Bricks & Books Cafe.