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imiji's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
i am of many minds about this book. i picked it up because randall's poetry collection refuse is probably one of my favorite books of poetry i've read, like ever in my life. parts of this book are nothing short of virtuosic, in particular "grief ft kanye west," "elena," and "of tenderness, of fugitives." randall is really amazing at sitting with a piece of pop culture or a widespread image and honoring both its emotional resonance with him as he received it, and the fact that the celebrity/fictional story/politician in question is in fact not a mirror for any real deeper truth about his life, because of the ideas and institutions and power dynamics that produce these images. i do think that lines that are super dense with syntactical play and image actually dilute and confuse his prose a lot of the time in this book. there are certain lines that feel a little empty because they reach for a poetic register instead of saying what they mean, and while they don't necessarily prevent this book from being vulnerable and critical about randall's subject matter, they do add some dead air at really important moments.
jan_coco_day's review
I read an early digital manuscript I obtained as an employee of Hachette/Bold Type Books.
Review to come closer to pub date.
Review to come closer to pub date.
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