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hippiesblood's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
sophiejuhlin's review against another edition
3.0
Some excellent, absolutely beautiful and wrenching poems here (“topsy suite”, “refrain”, “sex trafficking incidents...”) peppered with oddly placed and frankly ho hum poems (“mirror and canvas”, “one act play”, “the twins”). Maybe I’m finding it hard to connect all these parts within one arc, but I feel like there are at LEAST two books within this whole work.
msjoanna's review against another edition
3.0
I found this collection hard to connect with. There were some of these that were powerful and moving. Others felt almost too cute or too focused on form rather than substance or readability. I'm sure I'm not the target audience as someone who only occasionally dabbles in poetry reading and doesn't understand much of the referencing and conversation that I'm sure is happening in the background here.
sam8834's review against another edition
4.0
Evie Shockley's poetry is clever and accessible in its word play and repetition, elements that serve the racial and political landscape of this book well. Get this, for its violence and its love, and put it in your brain.
taviarz's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.75
I think I would’ve enjoyed this more if I read the sections straight through. Will definitely reread later to see.
chaetrain's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
3.5
very ambitious in its experiments and scope, sometimes wishing for more of a path through it
focused generally on music
focused generally on music
bluetans's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
Inspired me to write more poetry and explore more with form. Such good writing <3
jonathanwlodarski's review against another edition
5.0
Knockout after knockout in Shockley's latest--my favorite in particular is the "Topsy in Wonderland" section, which mashes up Topsy from Uncle Tom's Cabin with scenes taken word-for-word from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to explore racism in Reconstructionist America. Breathtaking.
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