Scan barcode
historyoftape's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This is one of the better poetry collections I've read this year. Not only are the continuous references to plays and theatre very effective, the poems also have a way of drawing you in. The amount of interesting formats & more experimental poems speaks of the author's skills. My one gripe is that I could have done with a bit less explicit sexual references within some poems, but that is personal preference.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Death, Sexual content, Rape, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Dysphoria, Self harm, Racism, Blood, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Addiction, and Body shaming
madmadmaddymad's review
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Loved it.
Non-binary excellence.
Ugly in its honesty.
Sensational.
I don’t read a lot of poetry - but maybe I should. I loved everything about this.
Non-binary excellence.
Ugly in its honesty.
Sensational.
I don’t read a lot of poetry - but maybe I should. I loved everything about this.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Self harm
jlynnreadsandwrites's review
4.0
Kantor has written a soul-bearing book of poems. Truth and honest are in every page. Their grief, struggles with depression and identity are written in a way that doesn't hold back. The poems are beautifully crafted both in language and shape. Lines such as these will stay with you long after you've finished reading:
"remember how busy you were
trying to figure out how they got in
that you forgot
about the person living there"
This is a book that needs to exist. Nonbinary voices are difficult to find and so very necessary. May this book find its way to the hands of nonbinary youth who can know their struggles are not singular that others know their experience and that they can push forward through the struggles.
"remember how busy you were
trying to figure out how they got in
that you forgot
about the person living there"
This is a book that needs to exist. Nonbinary voices are difficult to find and so very necessary. May this book find its way to the hands of nonbinary youth who can know their struggles are not singular that others know their experience and that they can push forward through the struggles.
bobthebookerer's review
4.0
This is a fascinating and varied collection of poems that draws a truly interesting line between theatre (the author's passion) and the daily 'performance' of gender and sexuality, families, relationships, (mental) health and sex. Images of the stage and being on show appear regularly, and contrast and interplay beautifully with ideas of identity and societal expectation.
In an especially powerful poem, 'I Am Sure', Kantor recounts their harrowing experience of sexual assault, and the fallout from it, from both the shame and discomfort felt when reporting it, but also in friends and family not knowing how to respond.
These lines in particular, about their assault, stopped me in my tracks:
it felt like every room of my home
being broken into at the same time
remember how busy you were
trying to figure out how they got in
that you forgot
about the person living there
-
Alongside more harrowing poems in this collection are some gentler, more playful ones, and the collection overall has a nice balance. Kantor's non-binary identity is explored from many angles, from a mother wondering if she can still call Kantor their "son", to trying to understand how bodies and sexual identity intersect, and even to Kantor sat at a funeral in a man's suit, angry at the idea that they cannot wear what they would want to for fear of being attacked, whilst also knowing that they would most likely be buried in a suit as it is the 'acceptable' thing to do.
This collection was a pleasant surprise, and I think it is one that deserves to be treasured and re-read.
Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In an especially powerful poem, 'I Am Sure', Kantor recounts their harrowing experience of sexual assault, and the fallout from it, from both the shame and discomfort felt when reporting it, but also in friends and family not knowing how to respond.
These lines in particular, about their assault, stopped me in my tracks:
it felt like every room of my home
being broken into at the same time
remember how busy you were
trying to figure out how they got in
that you forgot
about the person living there
-
Alongside more harrowing poems in this collection are some gentler, more playful ones, and the collection overall has a nice balance. Kantor's non-binary identity is explored from many angles, from a mother wondering if she can still call Kantor their "son", to trying to understand how bodies and sexual identity intersect, and even to Kantor sat at a funeral in a man's suit, angry at the idea that they cannot wear what they would want to for fear of being attacked, whilst also knowing that they would most likely be buried in a suit as it is the 'acceptable' thing to do.
This collection was a pleasant surprise, and I think it is one that deserves to be treasured and re-read.
Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
rosebeccs's review
4.0
This is a stunning collection, probably one of my favourite modern poetry collections that I've read over the last couple of years. I'm always eager for more work by queer, nonbinary artists and this felt like exactly what I was looking to read right now. So much so that I read it in one sitting.
Despite it being in a similar wheelhouse to other collections I've read recently, it surprised me at every turn. It was a thrill to read how they used their passion for theatre as a thread throughout the collection, how they turned classic works like Shakespeare into potential queer works. I think anyone who's going to be into poetry like this will enjoy that thread.
The frankness around loss and addiction and suicidal thoughts took me aback and yet had a deep familiarity to it. Loss on all levels - whether it's death or someone no longer in your life or the rejection of family that many lgbtq people will recognise.
Overall I really enjoyed this one and there are stanzas from it that are sure to echo in my head for a while to come.
Thanks to Button Poetry for the ARC via Netgalley, it was a joy to read.
Despite it being in a similar wheelhouse to other collections I've read recently, it surprised me at every turn. It was a thrill to read how they used their passion for theatre as a thread throughout the collection, how they turned classic works like Shakespeare into potential queer works. I think anyone who's going to be into poetry like this will enjoy that thread.
The frankness around loss and addiction and suicidal thoughts took me aback and yet had a deep familiarity to it. Loss on all levels - whether it's death or someone no longer in your life or the rejection of family that many lgbtq people will recognise.
Overall I really enjoyed this one and there are stanzas from it that are sure to echo in my head for a while to come.
Thanks to Button Poetry for the ARC via Netgalley, it was a joy to read.
larissalee's review against another edition
5.0
As a queer person myself, I felt a strong connection to many of the pieces in this book. I particularly liked "AFTER HE TELLS ME THAT POEMS ARE FOR HOPELESS ROMANTICS, I TELL HIM" as it reflected my own attitude toward poetry and the magic of wordcraft. I feel like I need to go back through the collection again just to be sure I got my fill of their story.
althea's review
5.0
Please Come Off-Book is a powerful punch-to-the-gut poetry collection that simultaneously felt like a comforting hand on the shoulder letting me know that, maybe my feelings are, in fact, valid, as a fellow nonbinary person. I am not generally a fan of the 'modern' style of poetry that this book features, but I found myself really resonating with so many of the poems throughout, and I thought the style actually really lent itself to it. I cannot recommend Kevin Kantor's poetry enough, bought to poetry lovers and poetry sceptics, like myself!
TW: rape, sexual assault, self harm, suicide, alcoholism, transphobia, homophobia, slurs, abusive parents, family illness, death, covid-19 pandemic
Thanks to Netgalley and Button Poetry for an e-ARC in return for an honest review!
TW: rape, sexual assault, self harm, suicide, alcoholism, transphobia, homophobia, slurs, abusive parents, family illness, death, covid-19 pandemic
Thanks to Netgalley and Button Poetry for an e-ARC in return for an honest review!
christopher_shiprack's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0