mandkips's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Racism
Moderate: Addiction, Gun violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Colonisation, Genocide, and Death
lowbrowhighart's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Racism, and Blood
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Addiction, Gun violence, Mental illness, Genocide, Colonisation, War, and Self harm
thecolourblue's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
This second collection from Natalie Diaz builds itself around water. Fluid foundations that see it moving from place to place, idea to idea, while keeping a cohesive rhythm.
Diaz explores the concept of the human body as a body of water - merging biological science with Native American mythology to form her own personal and political narrative - as well as the environmental dangers posed to the bodies of water on American land. It's a heady and commanding combination of metaphorical and literal rivers, and, of course, droughts. One of the more overtly political poems on this theme is the excellent 'Exhibits from the American Water Museum', told as a series of informational signs on the walls of a future exhibit about water, drought, Native culture, and colonialism.
Diaz explores the concept of the human body as a body of water - merging biological science with Native American mythology to form her own personal and political narrative - as well as the environmental dangers posed to the bodies of water on American land. It's a heady and commanding combination of metaphorical and literal rivers, and, of course, droughts. One of the more overtly political poems on this theme is the excellent 'Exhibits from the American Water Museum', told as a series of informational signs on the walls of a future exhibit about water, drought, Native culture, and colonialism.
Let me tell you a story about water:
Once upon a time there was us.
America’s thirst tried to drink us away.
And here we still are.
True to Diaz' previous work, there are flashes of startling humor, both in the Water Museum poems and in some of the included poems about love and sex. There are a number of sweet and erotic poems exploring the writer's queer identity and seemingly, paying homage to past or present lovers.
Also continuing a thread from Diaz' first collection, When My Brother Was An Aztec (which I loved), are tales of her family, and particularly her brother and his struggles with addiction. These poems are vignetted memories, some frightening, some achingly joyful.
I think I do prefer Diaz' first collection to this one, but this is still a masterful work from a poet fully embodied in her own power and vision.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Sexual content
krys_kilz's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I need to sit with and return to this collection. There was so much beneath the surface of each word/line and so many allusions I didn't quite pick up on or comprehend. It's certainly not an easy read, but it was a worthwhile one.
My favorite poems in the collection were: Manhattan Is a Lenape Word, American Arithmetic, They Don't Love You Like I Love You, The First Water Is the Body, exhibits from The American Water Museum, and Isn't the Air Also a Body, Moving?
My favorite poems in the collection were: Manhattan Is a Lenape Word, American Arithmetic, They Don't Love You Like I Love You, The First Water Is the Body, exhibits from The American Water Museum, and Isn't the Air Also a Body, Moving?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Colonisation and Genocide
gabbygarcia's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
I am touched—I am.
This is my knee, since she touches me there.
This is my throat, as defined by her reaching.
This collection is something really special. It’s not immediately accessible, but once you peel back the layers of each poem (scrolling through the dictionary a few times…), it’s so worth the work. Some favorites of mine include “Manhattan is a Lenape Word”, “American Arithmetic”, “They Don’t Love You Like I Love You”, “The First Body Is The Water”, “exhibits from The American Water Museum”, and “Isn’t the Air Also a Body, Moving?”. Too many favorites! I love the way she writes about water, light, language, and the body. I love how she connects the poems to one another through vocabulary and metaphor. Absolutely excellent and stunning.
This is my knee, since she touches me there.
This is my throat, as defined by her reaching.
This collection is something really special. It’s not immediately accessible, but once you peel back the layers of each poem (scrolling through the dictionary a few times…), it’s so worth the work. Some favorites of mine include “Manhattan is a Lenape Word”, “American Arithmetic”, “They Don’t Love You Like I Love You”, “The First Body Is The Water”, “exhibits from The American Water Museum”, and “Isn’t the Air Also a Body, Moving?”. Too many favorites! I love the way she writes about water, light, language, and the body. I love how she connects the poems to one another through vocabulary and metaphor. Absolutely excellent and stunning.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, Sexual content, and Violence
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