em_harring's review
4.0
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review!
I loved this collection. The artwork is *gorgeous* and I loved how the artists interpreted the poems they worked on. I think this is a perfect book for those who may not feel as comfortable reading poetry on its own, because they have the guiding interpretation of the poem in the comic.
I also loved how each of the contributors wrote about bodies and identities. This is such an important contribution to the growing non-binary and trans literary canon.
Would highly recommend!
I loved this collection. The artwork is *gorgeous* and I loved how the artists interpreted the poems they worked on. I think this is a perfect book for those who may not feel as comfortable reading poetry on its own, because they have the guiding interpretation of the poem in the comic.
I also loved how each of the contributors wrote about bodies and identities. This is such an important contribution to the growing non-binary and trans literary canon.
Would highly recommend!
snchard's review
4.0
I loved the art and I loved the poems. I didn't always love them together, sometimes it was a little too literal. I would definitely read another comic poetry anthology, though! I appreciated that the poems were printed in their original form at the end of each comic, and it was so cool that there was a study guide in the back.
ljrinaldi's review
3.0
This is an interesting approach to poetry, mixing it with visual story telling. Although I have trouble reading poetry, because I don't get all the visual nuances, and messages that were only hinted at.
It helped to have the graphic images that helped explain what the words of the poem meant, or that the artist thought they meant.
In the back, is a study guide to give a little more food for thought.
For those who like poetry about the body, and the use of the body, this would probably be a good book.
I only got one story, about being hired in to academia based on your looks. All the rest were too obscure for me to understand, unfortunately.
The hope of this book is to encourage more reading of poetry. I wish the publisher and authors good luck with that.
Thanks to Edelweiss for making this book available for an honest review.
It helped to have the graphic images that helped explain what the words of the poem meant, or that the artist thought they meant.
In the back, is a study guide to give a little more food for thought.
For those who like poetry about the body, and the use of the body, this would probably be a good book.
I only got one story, about being hired in to academia based on your looks. All the rest were too obscure for me to understand, unfortunately.
The hope of this book is to encourage more reading of poetry. I wish the publisher and authors good luck with that.
Thanks to Edelweiss for making this book available for an honest review.
librarypatronus's review
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
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.
julieannholland's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
This was honestly so cool. I was browsing the internet trying to find a piece of feminist media for my Women in World Thought literature essay, and I happened to find Embodied at my local library. At first, it was the cover that caught my attention, then the fact that it said feminist. I was already sold. But to find out that it is the first ever poetry anthology to be done in a comic format, not to mention a feminist one, I was amazed! I loved this!
I could launch into my essay, and how I discussed the intersectionality of this poetry anthology, feminist theory, and importance of media, but I won't. Instead, I just want to tell everyone that this is a beautiful anthology. It is original, innovative, inclusive, and beautifully done. The pictures in this graphic novel were gorgeous and some of the poems really hurt my heart. Not to mention some of the proceeds of sales goes to the International Women’s Health Coalition, an an organization that, “Promotes and protects the sexual and reproductive rights and health of all women and young people, particularly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, by helping to develop effective health and population policies, programs and funding and by seeking to influence U.S. policy on these matters,” (IWHC). So cool!
Clearly, I loved this, so why is it not five stars? Well, the reason is because sometimes the poems were very hard to understand. Whether it was the poem itself that was difficult or because of the layout on the comic-like page, there were just a few that I had a hard time really understanding.
But, that shouldn't stop anyone from reading this, because I will be thinking about this book for a very long time.
I could launch into my essay, and how I discussed the intersectionality of this poetry anthology, feminist theory, and importance of media, but I won't. Instead, I just want to tell everyone that this is a beautiful anthology. It is original, innovative, inclusive, and beautifully done. The pictures in this graphic novel were gorgeous and some of the poems really hurt my heart. Not to mention some of the proceeds of sales goes to the International Women’s Health Coalition, an an organization that, “Promotes and protects the sexual and reproductive rights and health of all women and young people, particularly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, by helping to develop effective health and population policies, programs and funding and by seeking to influence U.S. policy on these matters,” (IWHC). So cool!
Clearly, I loved this, so why is it not five stars? Well, the reason is because sometimes the poems were very hard to understand. Whether it was the poem itself that was difficult or because of the layout on the comic-like page, there were just a few that I had a hard time really understanding.
But, that shouldn't stop anyone from reading this, because I will be thinking about this book for a very long time.
ozpaszkie's review
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
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.