Scan barcode
foggy_rosamund's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this expansive, imaginative collection about migration, love, home, and what we learn from water and the ocean. In experimental and sensually-rich poems, Miller explores her Malaysian heritage, her family history, and moving between multiple cultures. She's also very interested in water -- one of my favourite pieces in this book is a sequence, Bloom, about jellyfish, which captures oceans full of jellyfish, jellyfish travelling through space, and jellyfish as a metaphor for the mistreatment of refugees. She also writes about swimming, being under water, and different ways of understanding salt water. Another surprising poem is "Proxima B", which is a long thought experiment, looking at what it would mean to love someone on a different planet, and the ways light travels through space. She's also not afraid to experiment: the poem "Glitch honorifics" flows across the page like a family tree, in a series of boxes, as she looks at untranslatable words. I also really admired her more formal poems: I usually find ghazals disappointing, but Miller's "Moon goddess ghazal" was a real stand-out piece for me, cleverly using a restrictive form to write an expansive poem. Another favourite was "Persimmon abcedarian", which captures the beauty of persimmons, mothers as migrants, and trying to celebrate the Chinese new year in a tiny British flat. Miller's voice is memorable and compelling, and she's definitely a poet to watch.
scottishben's review
4.0
For a collection I knew nothing about and took a punt on this was an unexpected delight. The first half of the book seemed to contain more poems that interested and spoke to me and there isnt perhaps a single poem that I loved so much to single out and read and re-read again and again as can often happen with poetry collections but I really enjoyed it and will revisit the collection quite a bit through the year.
There are signs of this being maybe a first collection with a lack of standardness of style and approach but in someways that might just be the experimental and explorative nature of the poet.
There are signs of this being maybe a first collection with a lack of standardness of style and approach but in someways that might just be the experimental and explorative nature of the poet.
kendramichele's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection that meditates on heritage, migration, and identity. Many of the poems experiment with structure; the result is delightful and expansive, challenging and inventive. Highly recommend!
mxmrow's review
5.0
I enjoyed the whole collection but I think the alphabet poem Persimmon abecedarian was what made this a solid 5 star for me as it does not rely on it being an alphabet to work.
thecolourblue's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
A strong debut poetry collection. Very beautiful and elegant to read, though not maybe of the entries really stuck with me afterwards the way some poetry does. Many of the poems here are about words themselves - not just the honorifics of the title, but also about definitions, multiple meanings, translations (or not, in the case of 'There is no specific word in English for') and personal history with words.
There are a wide range of topics touched on in the poems, some of which are written in response to prompts or other works, and some of which are in response to Miller's own life and heritage. Traditional food, family and memories share the pages with technology and deep space exploration.
Throughout there is a theme of fluidity and shifting ground, more literally realised in ocean-themed works like 'Bloom', a poem about one of my favourite creatures - jellyfish.
There are a wide range of topics touched on in the poems, some of which are written in response to prompts or other works, and some of which are in response to Miller's own life and heritage. Traditional food, family and memories share the pages with technology and deep space exploration.
Throughout there is a theme of fluidity and shifting ground, more literally realised in ocean-themed works like 'Bloom', a poem about one of my favourite creatures - jellyfish.
"I hope you never feel unsafe in your own body / of water / night is dark enough as it is."