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jestintzi's review
5.0
Hot damn, these poems! This little chapbook by David Ly is excellent, and has all that quiet queer heartbreak that always hits hard and deep. Many of the poems are about relationships or hook-ups, and especially the racism & shallow fetishization of the gay/hookup community, and the toxicity of that to the poem's speaker.
"Another Message Received" starts (following this quote from a Grindr user "…FORCE THIS WHITE BITCH TO SERVE YR ORIENTAL NOODLE!!!!"):
All you do is blink, delete
the no thank you, wishing you could
escape the bamboo cage
of your body.
GUTTED. Get this chapbook!
"Another Message Received" starts (following this quote from a Grindr user "…FORCE THIS WHITE BITCH TO SERVE YR ORIENTAL NOODLE!!!!"):
All you do is blink, delete
the no thank you, wishing you could
escape the bamboo cage
of your body.
GUTTED. Get this chapbook!
caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review
4.0
A bit of short stop in gay guy culture, which I don't often visit. (Although of course I know and have been to the Vancouver bars Celebrities and Odyssey, which are referenced!). I appreciate Ly's interrogation of anti-Asian racism in the queer men's world, both in the form of "not into Asians" and exoticization (especially memorable is a line from a grindr message referencing "yr oriental noodle"). Wtf!!
The titular poem is particularly powerful in its depiction of an unhealthy relationship. Looking forward to dipping into his full collection!
The titular poem is particularly powerful in its depiction of an unhealthy relationship. Looking forward to dipping into his full collection!
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