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boldeststroke's reviews
52 reviews
Brute: Poems by Emily Skaja
i always love to read work that's written by someone i've learned from. so many of these pieces circle around pain that lingers, like the cracked bones of a corpse rotten away skin-first, and they paint such visceral images that you can't help but swoop toward in the hopes of tearing some final flesh. i think that's why my favorite poem is "four hawks" because i can't imagine the gravity of the situation in the relationship being described without that central feeling.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I can’t stop dreaming I’m hiding
my own prints in the snow, convinced
my mouth is a metal trap, a part of it, apart
from you, & when you pull me awake
it’s because I’m lining my body with burrs,
because I’m antlers & talons & I know
the smell of cedar is home, is a ring of sky
I love, but I can’t take it when
you say Only deer, only hawks.
i always love to read work that's written by someone i've learned from. so many of these pieces circle around pain that lingers, like the cracked bones of a corpse rotten away skin-first, and they paint such visceral images that you can't help but swoop toward in the hopes of tearing some final flesh. i think that's why my favorite poem is "four hawks" because i can't imagine the gravity of the situation in the relationship being described without that central feeling.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
really grateful i was finally able to work up the courage to read this after having bought the novel so many years ago. i lost count of the amount of times i had to put it down and take a break from it to pace around my room. vuong toes the line between reality and reverie (because fantasy seems like the wrong word in his case) in a way that i would envy were it not for how devastating it is. to be the kind of person that can write this, especially knowing that the recipient can never read it, takes a willingness that i hardly think i have the guts to do. that sort of bravery is something i can only read about.
dark
reflective
sad
4.0
When does a war end? When can I say your name and have it mean only your name and not what you left behind?
really grateful i was finally able to work up the courage to read this after having bought the novel so many years ago. i lost count of the amount of times i had to put it down and take a break from it to pace around my room. vuong toes the line between reality and reverie (because fantasy seems like the wrong word in his case) in a way that i would envy were it not for how devastating it is. to be the kind of person that can write this, especially knowing that the recipient can never read it, takes a willingness that i hardly think i have the guts to do. that sort of bravery is something i can only read about.
Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay
4.0
I am trying, I think, to forgive myself
for something I don’t know what.
But what I do know is that I love the moment when the poet says
I am trying to do this
or I am trying to do that.
I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times by Taylor Byas
the jeopardy poem in this fucking rocked like i gotta try my hand at one of those at some point. byas's ability to use form in general is so admirable because you sometimes don't even notice that she's employing one until you're halfway down the page, and then you're like, wait a second, is this a VILLANELLE? so sick. i feel like she really elevates them by challenging herself further from the base of whatever original form she employs. i also have to watch the wiz now because it was fascinating to read a collection of poetry based on it without much prior knowledge on the movie, let alone the musical.
medium-paced
4.5
And I’m not above
crying over long-lost things, but this is where it gets embarrassing. Your
name starts to bring tears to my eyes in grocery store aisles. And when I hear certain
songs, I miss something I’ve forgotten the name of. What a special kind of ache.
the jeopardy poem in this fucking rocked like i gotta try my hand at one of those at some point. byas's ability to use form in general is so admirable because you sometimes don't even notice that she's employing one until you're halfway down the page, and then you're like, wait a second, is this a VILLANELLE? so sick. i feel like she really elevates them by challenging herself further from the base of whatever original form she employs. i also have to watch the wiz now because it was fascinating to read a collection of poetry based on it without much prior knowledge on the movie, let alone the musical.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
sorry to say it but i got a special place in my heart for this book so of course it is getting a high rating. lara jean song covey you will always be famous.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
If love is like a possession, maybe my letters are like my exorcisms.
sorry to say it but i got a special place in my heart for this book so of course it is getting a high rating. lara jean song covey you will always be famous.
GLOW vs the Babyface #4 by A.J. Mendez Brooks, Aimee Garcia, Hannah Templer
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
GLOW vs the Babyface #3 by A.J. Mendez Brooks, Aimee Garcia, Hannah Templer
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
GLOW vs the Babyface #2 by A.J. Mendez Brooks, Aimee Garcia, Hannah Templer
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
GLOW vs the Babyface #1 by A.J. Mendez Brooks, Aimee Garcia, Hannah Templer
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced