A review by ben_t_g
The Mobius Strip Club of Grief by Bianca Stone

dark emotional funny fast-paced

4.0

The fashion of contemporary poetry tends to oscillate between narrative first person and experimental thought exercises. The early aughts were full of the latter, now we’re at the other end of the pendulum. The thing about purely experimental work is it’s easier to mimic and to mistake stuff that’s half-baked for good. The narrative stuff, often - but not always - couched in identity is easier to suss out, but more naked, and lord knows there’s a ton of identity-based poetry that’s compelling for its subject, but not its execution. Sorry for the preamble. 

This is an excellent balance of fully realized weirdness laid out pretty traditionally. It could’ve been written in a 90s workshop, yet the language and thematic concerns are fresh. Hence the Ashbery quote on the back, I guess. And hence why this dinosaur enjoyed it, the way I enjoy a post-punk revival band.