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A review by lexaprose_
The Art of Job Hunting: A Dramedy in Verse by Anastasia Helena Fenald
4.0
"I’ll remember how this was never for me, I don’t have a seat at your table, I’m not invited to join you, no matter that your posting says vacancy."
I don't normally read poetry, but the subject matter in this collection is too important to pass up.
As a millennial, I've witnessed so many changes within the job market. Job hunting has become vastly different from when I graduated college to the present. With the rise of AI and applicant algorithms, applying for jobs has become a time consuming and emotional toll. It often feels like you're sending out your thoughts and prayers out into an abyss only to be potentially ghosted by a company recruiter, or ignored altogether.
Anastasia has managed to bring to life the modern day struggle for seeking employment in our late stage capitalist society.
"You learn how well the capitalist machine has both failed you and programmed you."
She also touches on racial prejudice towards potential candidates.
"Is my name able to cross borders? Does it have a passport that isn’t banned from travel?"
"What are citizenship and personhood to a nation of invaders who paved the way for Indigenous slaughter?"
Also discussed in this collection is the recruitment and utilization of young adults into the military.
"A moment of silence for all the little boys who believe America needs saving; that our nation is helpless. They think America a damsel with wobbly knees and fainting couch off screen. That America needs knights in camouflage to save Her from global monstrosity when it’s only Her face blood red in the mirror."
"A moment of silence for all the fallen baby boys, for all the lost little girls, for all life taken away from our little world, for our baby boys who lost their souls to fulfill a dream they couldn’t comprehend when only 18."
This collection is a must read!
Thank you Voracious Readers Only and Anastasia Helena Fenald for sending me this ARC in exchange for my review.
I don't normally read poetry, but the subject matter in this collection is too important to pass up.
As a millennial, I've witnessed so many changes within the job market. Job hunting has become vastly different from when I graduated college to the present. With the rise of AI and applicant algorithms, applying for jobs has become a time consuming and emotional toll. It often feels like you're sending out your thoughts and prayers out into an abyss only to be potentially ghosted by a company recruiter, or ignored altogether.
Anastasia has managed to bring to life the modern day struggle for seeking employment in our late stage capitalist society.
"You learn how well the capitalist machine has both failed you and programmed you."
She also touches on racial prejudice towards potential candidates.
"Is my name able to cross borders? Does it have a passport that isn’t banned from travel?"
"What are citizenship and personhood to a nation of invaders who paved the way for Indigenous slaughter?"
Also discussed in this collection is the recruitment and utilization of young adults into the military.
"A moment of silence for all the little boys who believe America needs saving; that our nation is helpless. They think America a damsel with wobbly knees and fainting couch off screen. That America needs knights in camouflage to save Her from global monstrosity when it’s only Her face blood red in the mirror."
"A moment of silence for all the fallen baby boys, for all the lost little girls, for all life taken away from our little world, for our baby boys who lost their souls to fulfill a dream they couldn’t comprehend when only 18."
This collection is a must read!
Thank you Voracious Readers Only and Anastasia Helena Fenald for sending me this ARC in exchange for my review.