Reviews

The Clearing: Poems by Allison Adair

sophiejuhlin's review against another edition

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4.0

I was going to say—this book has both Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s wide, absorbant, earthward eyes as well as Emily Skaja’s dirt-and-blood-covered hands, and then of course one of the poems is addressed as after Nezhukumatathil.

The spikes concealed in hairbrushes. The respun fables. It’s good.

bellwetherdays's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

4.75

ostrowk's review against another edition

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"What if this time instead of crumbs the girl drops / teeth, her own, what else does she have ..." is one hell of a way to start a collection. Lots of rich language throughout: "woozy bags of organs" and "the queer plunger of live birth."

"Honey" (https://www.usi.edu/sir/archived-issues/fall-2019/honey/) is, I think, my favorite poem—though probably because a new lover had me read it to him on our third date. It was early evening, we were high, giddy, and the turn away from sheep gut and bee vomit nearly knocked me off my chair.
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