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catcherinthepi's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
I didn't "get" some of the poems, but I loved the bluntness of her work and this conception of cyborg.
meredith_w's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
readerbot_lu's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
Did I like it? Yes
Do I recommend it? Yes
Do I recommend it? Yes
Favorite Quote
Dear Williams, // Dear Very Dead Doctor, Stop taunting me. (On Closed Systems, 11%)
Positives
I liked the references to the canon that I understood because they felt more fleshed out. That aspect, plus the dark humor and the way they address disability in society makes for an intersection of humor, art, and activism.
Negatives
There were a lot of references that I feel went over my head (which isn’t the author’s fault, just an indication that I might not be the specific target audience?) but the Notes section at the back helped.
rettaroo's review against another edition
Razor sharp, witty take down of the ubiquitous, casual ableism writers and poets lean on in their work. In Cathedral by Raymond Carver, Weise reimagines the plutonic relationship between the wife in the story and her blind “friend” as sexual and passionate. In Phantom Limb, she calls out a litany if poets who explain a phantom limb as a metaphor, thus erasing the lived experience of people with disabilities. In the last stanza she writes:
Does anyone actually have a phantom limb?
The rest of you: draw your blood elsewhere.
Indeed. Weise is a cyborg detective, sniffing out the ableism that permeates art and language and demanding visibility, justice, and dignity for all the beautiful, sensual, angry, powerful cyborgs of the world.
Does anyone actually have a phantom limb?
The rest of you: draw your blood elsewhere.
Indeed. Weise is a cyborg detective, sniffing out the ableism that permeates art and language and demanding visibility, justice, and dignity for all the beautiful, sensual, angry, powerful cyborgs of the world.
jayisreading's review against another edition
challenging
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
This was a sharp collection that challenges the horribly ableist society we live in. There are a lot of references made in these poems that fill in some of the details of what’s happening. That said, other poems might still have you looking up certain figures and ideas to fully grasp what Weise is trying to get at. Cy is tired of societal bullshit and how certain able-bodied and able-minded writers have approached disability (past and present).
There were two poems I particularly liked, but in general, I think this collection was meant to be approached as a whole rather than specific ones. It will really give you a sense of how frequently disabled people’s lived experiences are erased and misrepresented.
Some favorites: “Variation on the Disabled Poet Emily Dickinson’s #745” and “Cathedral by Raymond Carver”
Read for the Sealey Challenge.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape