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chillcox15's review against another edition
4.0
A finely conceived and rendered work of protest poetry. It's definitely more monotonous than Borzutzky's previous National Book Award winner, The Performance of Being Human-- I originally used monological rather than monotonous in the above sentence, but it is pointedly not monological, it's a collective protest chant rendered as a poem-play. Monotonous works better, as I'm referring to the solitary focus of this book that works overall but can also feel a bit too repetitive at points for me to fully love it. I totally understand why Borzutzky would do this though, and I am sympathetic to his praxis as reflected in the structure.
nick_jenkins's review against another edition
3.0
Not quite as inspired as The Performance of Becoming Human, Borzutzky’s anger is more raw and repetitive. Repetition and monotony are themes of the book, so it makes only so much sense to critique the book for exploring them deliberately, but there was a cleverness in the earlier book that I missed here.
rockingreader's review against another edition
3.0
This collection addressing violence, detention centers where people are 'disappeared,' and the privatization of the economy (education) is a moving work of protest poetry.
hobbitony's review against another edition
5.0
I had the chance to met Borzutsky a few weeks ago and his work on translations really interested me. Browsing the poetry section at my library, I came across this book.
I was honestly blown away. The first opening scene sets the theme of the rest of the poems to follow. These poems are brutal, lyrically poetic and speak volumes about Chicago. Currently, Chicago seems to be gearing up for another wave of potential riots following the Daunte Wright shooting. Having read this, Borzutsky's poetry encapsulates a lot of the issues ongoing today. Having written this in 2018, I wonder what he thinks about the Neoliberal Urbanism happening with our current Mayor.
Definitely a strong work and one that I plan on revisiting.
* I've never heard of the Homan Square black site until reading this work. CPD strikes again!
I was honestly blown away. The first opening scene sets the theme of the rest of the poems to follow. These poems are brutal, lyrically poetic and speak volumes about Chicago. Currently, Chicago seems to be gearing up for another wave of potential riots following the Daunte Wright shooting. Having read this, Borzutsky's poetry encapsulates a lot of the issues ongoing today. Having written this in 2018, I wonder what he thinks about the Neoliberal Urbanism happening with our current Mayor.
Definitely a strong work and one that I plan on revisiting.
* I've never heard of the Homan Square black site until reading this work. CPD strikes again!
nick_jenkins's review
3.0
Not quite as inspired as The Performance of Becoming Human, Borzutzky’s anger is more raw and repetitive. Repetition and monotony are themes of the book, so it makes only so much sense to critique the book for exploring them deliberately, but there was a cleverness in the earlier book that I missed here.
daneekasghost's review
4.0
An incandescent anger that burns away so much. My favorite part was when Neruda's cue "y por las calles la sangre de los ninos corria simplemente, como sangre de ninos" gives way to a poem that eschews metaphor with a sneer and shouts the names of things as they are.
Not a book that will convince people who aren't already angry about police brutality, but a cathartic scream for those who need it.
Not a book that will convince people who aren't already angry about police brutality, but a cathartic scream for those who need it.
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