raluca_p's review
5.0
“But what if I will not die?
What will govern me then?
How to govern me then?
What bounty, then, on my names?
What stone What rope What man
will be my officer?”
*
“& isn't a map only a joke we all agreed into a fact
& where can i touch the equator & how will i know
i am touching it & where is the end of my country
the beginning of the next how will i know i've crossed over”
*
“For a time I believed
myself in love with Orpheus, which only meant I loved
what I could make if I were free from what happened to my body.
That man who would never touch me, kept distance and without danger
by the barriers of fiction. Then I believed the work would save me.
I have no real use now for those Greek myths, their dead girls,
women raped by men and animals. Today the door is locked. Today
nobody is outside.
(...)
And all I know about Eurydice
is that she died. My every other fact about her is about him.”
What will govern me then?
How to govern me then?
What bounty, then, on my names?
What stone What rope What man
will be my officer?”
*
“& isn't a map only a joke we all agreed into a fact
& where can i touch the equator & how will i know
i am touching it & where is the end of my country
the beginning of the next how will i know i've crossed over”
*
“For a time I believed
myself in love with Orpheus, which only meant I loved
what I could make if I were free from what happened to my body.
That man who would never touch me, kept distance and without danger
by the barriers of fiction. Then I believed the work would save me.
I have no real use now for those Greek myths, their dead girls,
women raped by men and animals. Today the door is locked. Today
nobody is outside.
(...)
And all I know about Eurydice
is that she died. My every other fact about her is about him.”
cstefko's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A fantastic, gripping, superbly crafted collection. I recommend it wholeheartedly. This is basically everything I like poetry to be: visceral yet erudite, cohesive across the collection, and leaves an impression. And I'm always a fan of poets who use repetition in subtle yet impactful ways. There's a fair bit of formal variety in Elhillo's poems as well. I checked this out from the library but definitely want to purchase my open copy for rereading.
therkive's review
5.0
I think that this is the poetry book I needed to get me back into reading poetry. This was an achingly and hauntingly beautiful collection. Elhillo writes about about the experience of an immigrant, specifically of a Muslim girl navigating the waters between home (culture, shame, religion, assault) and the outside (racism, microaggressions, western 'rebellion'). She uses a myriad of formats to do so, each piece equally gutting and tender. The structures of each piece varied and that piqued interest, keeping me hooked for each new piece and struck me speechless with the intimate tone of grief and trauma hidden between the lines.
readingwithcoffee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
3.75
To reread
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Rape, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Stalking, Sexual harassment, and Racism
jvoutsinas's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
Stunning collection about what it means to be Black, Sudanese, Muslim, female, Arabic-speaking, a survivor, and the many other intersections aspects of the author's identity. She is unflinching honest and vulnerable in a way that leaves you gasping. Highly recommend!
machinations's review
this is REALLY good. my brain is just not good for reading poetry right now and I gotta return this