A review by qingyigeshu
Commons by Myung Mi Kim

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Having read two of Kim’s books now, I think I can safely say that good theory (articulated sometimes very cloudily in “Pollen Fossil Record”) does not necessarily make good poetry. Some of these poems were quite sad, but the majority are very muddled, in Kim’s own words “illegible” for the purposes of subversion. Personally I am of the opinion that subversion works best when the people you want to awaken can understand what’s going on.