librarypatronus's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars! I’ve never read a combination of poetry and graphic novel, and as someone who loves graphic novels and tries to read more poetry (but isn’t always good at it), I found the mixture really interesting and helpful to me understanding the message of the poems. They definitely were an eclectic mix of stories, some very dark and others hopeful or light, all of them beautifully illustrated. Some I think still went a tad over my head, and I really enjoyed the inclusion of discussion questions at the end - I didn’t have the answers but it helped me to think differently about some of the poems, as I focused on them.
goldentortoisebeetle's review against another edition
well, I knew I was bad at reading poetry, so I thought an illustrated anthology might be easier. it was harder. kudos to people that understand this.
ozpaszkie's review against another edition
5.0
I've never seen anything like this! It was really incredible to read poetry while looking at the interpretation of an artist. It was all striking and gorgeous. I'm so happy to see trans bodies and trans voices being accepted and uplifted by the feminist lit community. This collection allows the reader to see the different sides of "femininity" without it being bound to a certain body or reproductive system. We get a glimpse of motherhood, romantic relationships, platonic relationships, and relationships between the self and the body. Truly a masterpiece.
kaa's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a fascinating experience. I've never read illustrated poetry like this before, and my usual favorite way to experience poetry is by listening to it read aloud. But even though listening to poetry and seeing poems fully illustrated are very different sensory explorations, for me the use of art in this book successfully accomplished the same thing I seek in poetry read aloud: an added dimension to communicate meaning and emotion in the poetry. I did also appreciate having the text of the poem after the illustrated version - I like to read a poem multiple times anyway, and sometimes the text arrangement said something that wasn't expressed in the illustrated version.
I didn't understand every poem in the book - honestly, I am very new to poetry and never expect that I will understand every poem in a collection - but there is so much power and feeling to all of the poems and art. The study guide at the end helped to provide some additional context and illumination, as well. Some favorite pairings were Rubble Girl (poem by Jenn Givhan, art by Sara Wooley), Gender Studies (poem by Caroline Hagood, art by Stelladia), Half Girl, Then Elegy (poem by Omotara James, art by Ayşegül Sınav, color flats by Alexia Veldhuisen) and Drown (poem by Venus Thrash, art by Y Sanders).
I did wish that the ambiguity in the order of lines in Tempest (poem by Khaty Xiong, art by Morgan Beem) had been better captured in the illustrated version - I didn't feel that I'd really been able to grasp the poem until reading it from a few directions in the text version.
I didn't understand every poem in the book - honestly, I am very new to poetry and never expect that I will understand every poem in a collection - but there is so much power and feeling to all of the poems and art. The study guide at the end helped to provide some additional context and illumination, as well. Some favorite pairings were Rubble Girl (poem by Jenn Givhan, art by Sara Wooley), Gender Studies (poem by Caroline Hagood, art by Stelladia), Half Girl, Then Elegy (poem by Omotara James, art by Ayşegül Sınav, color flats by Alexia Veldhuisen) and Drown (poem by Venus Thrash, art by Y Sanders).
I did wish that the ambiguity in the order of lines in Tempest (poem by Khaty Xiong, art by Morgan Beem) had been better captured in the illustrated version - I didn't feel that I'd really been able to grasp the poem until reading it from a few directions in the text version.
sam8834's review against another edition
4.0
A gorgeous collection of illustrated poetry. Can't imagine how neat it would be to have a poem I wrote turned into a comic. Some good representation throughout, though I could have done without Maggie Smith's "Good Bones". Besides feeling out of place with the rest of the work, it's one of the most famous poems to come out in recent years - why give it yet another platform, when that space could have gone to a less visible or represented writer? Anyway, that's a small criticism, the antho overall is very cool. My only other nitpicky thing was that I would have switched the order of plain text poem and comic, making the plain text appear before the comic. Reason being that I felt a natural inclination to read the plain text before the comic....but maybe other readers would go at it differently.
meero's review against another edition
4.0
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.
Embodied is a gorgeous collection of illustrated poetry. This is my first experience with a book that takes poetry and brings it to life on its pages in the form of art. I'm a bit difficult when it comes to poetry, but I was captivated by the gorgeous art and the diversity of the voices behind each piece. The collection shows people from different genders, sexualities, and races and celebrates their beauty and individuality. A lot of the book felt joyful to me in the way it allowed the authors and artists to express these stories. Even the more difficult, triggering topics were given their weight.
I also can't stress how stunning the art is. The entire collection is beautifully written and illustrated!
I really enjoyed reading this anthology, and this marriage of art and poetry is a medium I'd love to come back to in the future.
Embodied is a gorgeous collection of illustrated poetry. This is my first experience with a book that takes poetry and brings it to life on its pages in the form of art. I'm a bit difficult when it comes to poetry, but I was captivated by the gorgeous art and the diversity of the voices behind each piece. The collection shows people from different genders, sexualities, and races and celebrates their beauty and individuality. A lot of the book felt joyful to me in the way it allowed the authors and artists to express these stories. Even the more difficult, triggering topics were given their weight.
I also can't stress how stunning the art is. The entire collection is beautifully written and illustrated!
I really enjoyed reading this anthology, and this marriage of art and poetry is a medium I'd love to come back to in the future.