Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Soho

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

james1star's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I thoroughly enjoyed this poetry collection and would totally recommend it. In Soho, Scott give us 47 poems starting with him in a library and not finding any queer poems so decides to write ‘COCK’ in the margin and culminating in the epic that is ‘Oh My Soho!’ which acts as both a love letter to Soho and a whistle stop tour of queer history in the UK. The sections in the middle include: admission, love poems and shame. Whilst not all entries were to my liking, many were with there being lots of underlined and starred phrases and as a whole I enjoyed it. Scott does talk a lot about sex leading to some thinking him ‘… the homosexual you cannot be proud of’ and whilst it’s maybe too focused on for my personal preference I still understood them, he injects a lot of personality and rawness which is commendable. Furthermore, Scott’s honestly was my favourite part I’d say, it’s hard hitting at times and there were parts I could totally relate to but overall I got a sense of looking to the future while acknowledging our past which was great.

There is a lot to say about each of these poems so I would definitely say to check it out but these are a few of my favourite quotes. (/ means the following section is on another line, … means I’ve skipped sections)

‘When u read how they poured petrol over that man / I see my own death… We are not so different / that poor sod and I…’
- from ‘Reportage’
‘…I want this man my friend to see me / as pure not in any way ruined or touched / dirty a tease a liar an attention seeker…’
- from ‘Admission’
‘…for the longest / time people told me / I must change my life / but this is my life / this adoration of / men this worship of / those whom the / world has deemed / broken…’
- from museum
‘hope what is it be honest with me…’
- from ‘the hole’
‘…you believe in disney films / aurora ariel belle get their prince / I think that’s heteronormative bullshit…’
- from ‘the presence of x’
‘it’s raining in my heart / what does that even mean and / why am I so sad / all the fucking time… how come my head’s a cloud and / my heart’s a puddle…’
- from ‘sertraline 50 mg’ (loved this poem!!)
‘… it’s still not regular intercourse… it’s still an act of protest… it’s all still a middle finger up… we are still dangerous faggots’
- from ‘[even if you fuck me all vanilla in]’
‘…none of us have ever known what we’re doing / homos each one of us as opaque as rose / quartz I am so lost’
- from ‘[5am cadaver-slack in my arms]’
‘people say shit like it gets better / but what they mean is there’ll always be haters / only you’ll be older’ and ‘the world has given you… love I mean shame’
- from ‘[people say shit like it gets better]’
‘…in the deepest offal-shadowed parts of myself I feel the / thought of myself / free from shame but made from shame’ and ‘…shame is your gift from the world to the / world that fucked still fucks you’
- from ‘[shame on you faggot for bending whitman to your own will co-]’
‘…We’re a people robbed of / ancestors - they were stolen, hooded, from us…’ and ‘…how did our gorgeous species survive the Parliamentarian’s / drug-embargoing / slaughter? The proxy-diagnose? The segregated blood-drives? / the censored sex-ed classes? The NHS’s test and detain orders? / The government’s waning funds? The GP’s apathy? Ignorance’ and ‘…spin me back to your parades, your protests, your pride - / when a rainbow flag was a sigil and a cocktail was flaming! / Oh my Soho, / was there ever an invulnerable queer body?’
- from ‘Oh my Soho!’

Content Warnings