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lizawall's review against another edition
2.0
You know when someone would be hot, except that they think they are even hotter than they are, and it sort of cancels it out? Eileen Myles feels like that to me. Like she would be totally charming except that it is always all, look at me being charming, which completely kills the charm. It made me mad when she talked about tramping mud in that library in Iceland. Like, haha, you are telling a cute self-deprecating story about yourself but also wipe your damn feet.
parksystems's review against another edition
4.0
By the end of this, you feel as if Myles is an extremely familiar friend, or perhaps you're even her. Her voice makes sense, feels natural and perhaps you even begin to emulate her, or thinking about that thing she said yesterday- wait, the thing you read? Really, so smart and funny and serious and honest and human, very human.
nathansnook's review against another edition
informative
3.0
halfway through the book, i realized that i like the way they think, but i don't like the way they write. in interviews, in poetry readings, there's a voice, a presence that is required in consumption of their work, but their writing, alone, is better kept in their private diaries.
to call these essays would be too generous. ideas go in one direction and become something else entirely. with a friend over coffee, this, i wouldn't mind at all, but in a format like this, it left me empty. you see, Eileen has incredible observations, perfect adj+subj combos, but nothing else. maybe a few paragraphs after these sporadic strokes of brilliance are met with a beautiful open passage that runs free, free enough that everything expands and hits the heart, much like this:
"this is my exhortation, my recipe for the lesbian brain. you're living in it. you're reading it here. bodies and books, all our gestures, large boring gatherings and small strange meetings, sexual encounters, splashes of light across our faces and bodies in apartments, art on the wall, tapes on the screens, words out loud. these are the elements, ingredients, a recipe for the lesbian brain, the sky overhead, the endless night and the food we eat, the way we dress, everything that shows, a radiant secrecy, the whole aching collection, the gamut of us. it's the living upside of our notorious invisibility. our virtual intelligence as we put it out. the indestructible ghetto."
but these come far and few in between. we do get incredible glances at Alex Katz, slander on David Sedaris, and much love for Jenny Holzer. even a talk with Daniel Day Lewis! there's a lot to love here when roaming through Eileen's brain. but the collection itself feels unedited, many ideas left dry and deflated with very little meat unless you're a mega-Myles fan.
to call these essays would be too generous. ideas go in one direction and become something else entirely. with a friend over coffee, this, i wouldn't mind at all, but in a format like this, it left me empty. you see, Eileen has incredible observations, perfect adj+subj combos, but nothing else. maybe a few paragraphs after these sporadic strokes of brilliance are met with a beautiful open passage that runs free, free enough that everything expands and hits the heart, much like this:
"this is my exhortation, my recipe for the lesbian brain. you're living in it. you're reading it here. bodies and books, all our gestures, large boring gatherings and small strange meetings, sexual encounters, splashes of light across our faces and bodies in apartments, art on the wall, tapes on the screens, words out loud. these are the elements, ingredients, a recipe for the lesbian brain, the sky overhead, the endless night and the food we eat, the way we dress, everything that shows, a radiant secrecy, the whole aching collection, the gamut of us. it's the living upside of our notorious invisibility. our virtual intelligence as we put it out. the indestructible ghetto."
but these come far and few in between. we do get incredible glances at Alex Katz, slander on David Sedaris, and much love for Jenny Holzer. even a talk with Daniel Day Lewis! there's a lot to love here when roaming through Eileen's brain. but the collection itself feels unedited, many ideas left dry and deflated with very little meat unless you're a mega-Myles fan.
lifesaverscandyofficial's review against another edition
I'm a little too stupid for this one, maybe!!
msalomons's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Eileen myles the poet that you are
katiec's review against another edition
3.0
Eileen Myles is an incredible writer, but reading this title first might've been a misstep (especially because I'm not a huge fan of reading art criticism when I can't see the art that's being discussed). Her introductory essay on Iceland was my favorite--though I'm not sure I totally understood Iceland as the connecting thread between pieces?--and her piece on flossing was a close second. Turned down lots of pages before remembering it belonged to the library.
pellegrino_cowboy's review against another edition
4.0
Reading this had its ups and downs. The ups, essays about art but not about art, an interview with Daniel Day Lewis, and a handful of her mid 2000s blog posts, grabbed me. The downs, all of the "Art Essays," went over my head. Eileen Myles is unapologetic. Her personality cuts through her writing. At times it's abrasive, but for the most part it's charming. 4 out of 5.
Also, the cover is beautiful :~)
Also, the cover is beautiful :~)