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nhnabass's reviews
109 reviews
War of the Foxes by Richard Siken
5.0
“Who gets to measure the distance between experience and its representation? Who controls the lines of inquiry? We do. Anyone can.”
I really enjoyed this series of poems— ekphrastic, philosophical, and existential in nature. Ones that urge a gentle look inward for artists everywhere.
I really enjoyed this series of poems— ekphrastic, philosophical, and existential in nature. Ones that urge a gentle look inward for artists everywhere.
Illocality by Joseph Massey
5.0
“It must be enough
to live in the variations
of wind alone.
To sing the seams.”
This book feels like a gust of wind on the cusp of winter that makes you wish you brought an extra coat, but chills you just enough to enjoy the sweetness of changing seasons. I enjoy revisiting these poems every year around this time.
to live in the variations
of wind alone.
To sing the seams.”
This book feels like a gust of wind on the cusp of winter that makes you wish you brought an extra coat, but chills you just enough to enjoy the sweetness of changing seasons. I enjoy revisiting these poems every year around this time.
Do Not Bring Him Water by Caitlin Scarano
5.0
“I drained the gentleness from myself as if bleeding a boar.”
Wow. Trauma, grief, despair, and reincarnation all told via haunting metaphors of nature, animals, and gender. I found this collection deeply raw. This is a series I will certainly need to revisit again and again to fully appreciate the language Scarano uses.
Wow. Trauma, grief, despair, and reincarnation all told via haunting metaphors of nature, animals, and gender. I found this collection deeply raw. This is a series I will certainly need to revisit again and again to fully appreciate the language Scarano uses.
Excerpts from a Secret Prophecy by Joanna Klink
4.0
“So much yours I hardly saw what was
happening to me Give yourself like that
and you are sure to lose something”
I found Joanna Klink after reading Circadian, and still she continues to find language for the indescribable lonely feelings of being alive.
happening to me Give yourself like that
and you are sure to lose something”
I found Joanna Klink after reading Circadian, and still she continues to find language for the indescribable lonely feelings of being alive.
Dear God. Dear Bones. Dear Yellow. by Noor Hindi
5.0
“I want to be like those poets who care about the moon.
Palestinians don’t see the moon from jail cells and prisons.”
I’ve come back to this collection maybe five or six times since I bought it. So thankful for it. Grateful for seeing a story like mine in words that I have thought for what feels like years. This collection feels like a warm hug and puts a fire in my chest.
Palestinians don’t see the moon from jail cells and prisons.”
I’ve come back to this collection maybe five or six times since I bought it. So thankful for it. Grateful for seeing a story like mine in words that I have thought for what feels like years. This collection feels like a warm hug and puts a fire in my chest.
Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance: Poems by Fady Joudah
5.0
“Polyglot
in which language do you dream
and in which
will we speak in heaven”
I had the opportunity to meet Fady at AWP several years ago in Portland after his panel and was so excited to pick up this collection. His use of specifically anatomical language as a doctor was foreign to me in this kind of writing and I did have to pause to look things up every so often to ensure I was fully understanding the imagery he was using, but it is well worth it.
in which language do you dream
and in which
will we speak in heaven”
I had the opportunity to meet Fady at AWP several years ago in Portland after his panel and was so excited to pick up this collection. His use of specifically anatomical language as a doctor was foreign to me in this kind of writing and I did have to pause to look things up every so often to ensure I was fully understanding the imagery he was using, but it is well worth it.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
5.0
Wow! This is a phenomenal thriller! I loved so much about this book. The author’s pacing is perfect, leaving you just one step behind every twist in the tale.
I must say, I absolutely love the protagonist. The way he describes his wife is beautiful and moving. I struggle to find male authors writing women well, and Crouch really did. It was noticeable and I felt so endeared by Jason’s love for Dani.
I really can’t think of a single gripe about this book other than having to google what the heck a “Brownstone” is because it seemed specific and came up a lot. This was a fantastic dark sci-fi that sends you into just enough of an existential spiral to gently pull you back out by the end. I thoroughly enjoyed.
I must say, I absolutely love the protagonist. The way he describes his wife is beautiful and moving. I struggle to find male authors writing women well, and Crouch really did. It was noticeable and I felt so endeared by Jason’s love for Dani.
I really can’t think of a single gripe about this book other than having to google what the heck a “Brownstone” is because it seemed specific and came up a lot. This was a fantastic dark sci-fi that sends you into just enough of an existential spiral to gently pull you back out by the end. I thoroughly enjoyed.
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