[11] Brown has been dubbed a "part-time curandera" because her poetry deals with healing issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexual orientation.
[12][13] Jonathan Cortez, a Ph.D. recipient from the Department of American Studies at Brown University, describes the book's title as a “call to action, a demand, a recognition, a reparation, a reorientation, and a reclamation”.
[14] Ali Black, a writer and poet based in Cleveland, Ohio, describes this collection as untraditional, as it combines poems, epigraphs, and “Brown’s college course notes from 2014 and 2015,” giving it the feel of both a diary and a history book.
[13] Brown's poems also serve to reclaim and highlight the erased history of key Black historical figures, including Gaspar Yanga and Estevanico.
[12] She eventually comes to terms with her inability to "find an image of Yanga online" concluding "instead, I try harder to love my own face, nose, lips, hair".
[15] She highlights “the erasure of Blackness in Mexico within Mexicanidad” and addresses the violence faced by Afro-Latinos, including isolation and anti-Black sentiments.
[20][21] Ariana Brown's poem "A Division of Gods" delves into the complex interplay of identity, colonization, and historical memory during a visit to Templo Mayor in Mexico City.
Through "A Division of Gods," Brown invites readers to confront the uncomfortable truths of colonization and its enduring impact on identity and cultural memory, urging a deeper understanding of the histories that shape our present.
[2] Ariana Brown, a Black Mexican American poet, has openly discussed her complex relationship with identity and representation in her personal life.
Her experiences as a queer, Blaxican woman have heavily influenced her work, as she uses poetry to explore themes of racial identity, cultural politics, and the erasure of Blackness within Mexican communities.
[3] Brown's deep interest in lineage and history stems from her father passing away before she was born, leading her to reflect on her heritage and the significance of ancestral connections.
Her poetry often addresses the intersections of race, ethnicity, and gender, and she speaks candidly about the challenges of finding her place in both Black and Latinx communities.
"[5] In high school, Brown found inspiration in the autobiography of Malcolm X, admiring how he used language to command attention and advocate for change.