I listened to the author read her poems and for a while the words made me see familiar things, sometimes they made me step back and recognize I was allowed to listen in. I was on her bike and on the bus, but I was not her. I'll listen again some nights. I could sketch half a dozen scenes and feelings from one listen, two days later. ( )

Beautiful compilation of verse and art of personal experience, but translatable into universal understanding, empathy, compassion. In her introduction, Ewing says "This book is about my life and maybe also your life." and the foreword in the book notes "Poets fill in the spaces other types of storytelling can't always reach." That's the connection this book fosters. Ewing is an important voice in Chicago -- focusing on sociology in education at U of C and equity in CPS. "Ignore Eve Ewing at your own intellectual, political, and cultural peril." says Chicago magazine. Read this and you won't want to. ( )

Fantastical and feminine and painful and beautiful--those are the words that came to my mind when I was reading this book. I couldn't relate to most of the poems, but I could feel them. I thought it was interesting how Ewing combined the poetry, art, and narrative prose, and overall I think it worked well. I appreciated the allusion to The Iliad in "Requiem for Fifth Period and the Things That Went on in Them." Full review to follow. ( )

"I know I can't tell the difference between a good and a bad poem"

I enjoyed this. Just don't ask me to tell you why.

There's a tryptic of poems (the first time, four boys on ellis & another time.) interspersed through the book, which I assumed on the title would be poems about sex. Then, it being 2018, I felt the needle — I hope it's consensual. They weren't. It was racism

Delightful poems from a Chicago artist who is also a great twitter follow. The form and feel vary throughout, I liked this very much. ( )