A review by astralumpia
Brute: Poems by Emily Skaja

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

3.0

Had higher hopes for this (the tumblrinas had me for a sec and that’s on me). I can see the influences of Anne Carson and others, but the other 2/3rds fall flat. It’s giving ‘lest a woman does anything’ white feminine rage - but part of me does like the exploration of survival from trauma, hunger, eating, starvation, flesh - but girlie why not explore it deeper instead of referencing H*rry P*tter…. That said the themes of women as animals/beasts/the wild as a “free” feminine space — It all feels a bit “done” if that makes sense. The elegies are perhaps the highlight and what keep me from giving this a lower score.