I’m not a big reader of modern poetry, but I decided to give this book a chance because of the topics it portrays. The poems talk mainly about family, grief, gender identity, and rape (for which I would give a huge trigger warning). You can feel the authenticity in every word that the author wrote, and for that, I enjoyed the reading experience. But the formatting wasn’t my cup of tea, and whereas some poems hit hard, others are barely understandable.

All in all, I liked it, and I would recommend this book for fans of modern poetry and theatre.

Please Come Off-Book by Kevin Kantor @kevin_kantor
Thanks to NetGalley @netgalley and Button Poetry @buttonpoetry for giving me a digital ARC of this poetry collection. 🤗✨

I've been trying to read more poetry this year, and, as a former high-school theatre kid, I was excited to get to read Please Come Off-Book - which has been aptly described as both a love letter to and a sharp criticism of American theatre.
Kevin Kantor is a queer, non-binary poet and actor. Kantor's dramaturgical collection of poems is structured inventively and contains thoughtful commentary on gender, identity, and performance, as well as plenty of theatre references and twists on "classics" like Hamlet and R&J.
Kantor's writing is poignant and touching, and - while it is difficult to pick a favourite - the last poem of the collection DRESS REHEARSAL: FINAL DRESS particularly stood out to me (a video of Kevin Kantor reading this one can be found on their instagram page).

Sidenote: I also recommend the interview Kevin Kantor did on the podcast We Did The Reading @wedidthereading It's a delightful conversation! ⭐💖

#pleasecomeoffbook #poetrycollection #readmorepoetry #readpoetry #poetry #theatre #americantheatre #dressrehearsal #netgalley #kevinkantor

Please Come Off Book by Kevin Kantor is a testament to truth and voice in lyrical form.

What I really enjoyed most was the very incredibly personal collection that was rendered in creating and selecting this particular set and gifting them to the world. They’re style is breathtaking and brutal and bleeds from the pages. My favorite selections were: “People You May Know,” “I Am Sure,” “A Poem I Wrote After My Ex Wrote A Song About Me,” and “The Director Gives Me Notes After Our First Run Through.”

It is a modern poetry collection that brings forth concepts of love, queerness, identity, loss, the arts, and so much more. They did a wonderful job weaving a tale with all of these elements. Definitely worth the read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for graciously gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I felt so seen. It's an open and honest poetry book with an interesting format. Stories surrounding gender identity and sexual trauma are not centered around marginalized identity. The complicated relationship with your loved ones as you come to terms with every identity, it's easy to question if you're gone enough. Poetry is the best form of expression for oppressed and silenced groups. it's a form of storytelling where you can break any rules. This book tells so many different stories that fit together in its own jumbled-up. It's human.

I tend to be very reluctant when it comes to modern poetry that follows unconventional forms and patterns of writing and expression, since it's usually not my cup of tea, but I really appreciated this one. The poems about sexual assault were very sincere, bold and needed, even though they were definitely hard-hitting and I'd say trigger warning for this subject is required. Loved the own voices poems of the author's experiences as non-binary, which made a loud statement to society and I was very impressed about how smart and original the concepts of the poems were (one my favorite examples being "Trigger/"!) Very well-executed collection that I'd highly recommend even to readers reluctant to pick up modern poetry!

please come off-book is an intensely private poetry collection, sometimes to the point of discomfort. kevin kantor explores topics such as grief, gender identity, sexual violence, dysfunctional family dynamics, queerness, loneliness, theatre and more broadly art and how they all converge in the rich tapestry of their life and craft.

Somewhat experimental with form, it not only embellishes but also complements the meaning. I especially liked the use of footnotes in "i am working a nine-month contract..." which reminded me of ocean vuong's "seventh circle of earth"
although I am not familiar with theatre and acting, i liked how it played with tropes and classics, and would highly recommend it for anyone who loves a poetic texts that retells them, subverts expectations and uncovers their queer subtext.
i found the collection was steeped in a kind of americana that i always find endearing, like in "once upon a time in iowa" which had something of clementine von radics (who blurbed this!!) "courtney love prays to oregon"

it's a very self aware, playful, and earnest collection, that slips in tenderness despite the violence of some of the lived experiences that are playing out in the text.

I think this is my new favourite poetry book- it is truly ingenious. Kevin Kantor (they/them) is a master of contemporary poetry and wordplay. Every piece in Please Come Off-Book is done to perfection. The way they are illustrated on the page is mindblowing. Whether you can relate or not, each poem has something to say that you need to hear. This collection is incredibly creative, deep, and true. I don’t know how many times I found myself on the verge of laughter or tears or thinking “you tell ‘em!” “Omfffg helllll yaaaa” “YES YES AND YES”.

Topics touched upon are living as queer/trans, suicidal ideation, racism, romance/heartbreak, family trauma, sexual assault, etc. So while it is an impeccable read, do be warned of possible tough content.
I will definitely be buying a copy when this comes out.

Favourite poems include:
1 PLEASE COME OFF-BOOK
21 STAGE MAKEUP SYLLABUS *favourite*
25 PEOPLE YOU MAY KNOW
29 SUBTEXT
41 TRIGGER
47 THE MAN PLAYING MY FATHER
49 THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH SONGS ABOUT EATING ASS (lol)
55 I AM SURE
67 ALL THESE KIDS START EASTING LAUNDRY DETERGENT AND ALL I CAN THINK IS
68 THE DIRECTOR GIVES ME NOTES AFTER OUR FIRST RUN-THROUGH

“So glory to the queers who live to see the credits roll”

Wow. What a stunning poetry collection, full of powerful and emotional writing that resonated with me in ways I didn’t expect.

I have long been a fan of Button Poetry, so I was unknowingly aware of Kevin Kantor’s poetry but I am so glad I picked this up and got to read more from them.

If you loved Please Come Off-Book, I recommend checking out Button Poetry’s YouTube to hear Kevin perform some of their incredible poetry.

Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you netgalley for the e-arc

I absolutely adore queer poetry. I can never actually sit down and read poetry unless it in some way relates to me.

My favorite stanza was probably on page 88, in A Poem in Which All But One of Those Queer Characters does, in fact, die. Kantor just casually dropped this as if I wasn’t going to start sobbing at 2 am

“& I get it / we’ve all had to play straight & cis before / on stage / on screen / in gas station parking lots / my grandfather’s funeral / nobody paid me / but at least I got to live / so forgive me / Hollywood / if when you say checked box I hear unmarked grave / how brave / to bear the lesson / of someone else’s death”

This collection took me on an insanely wild ride, as I began to understand Kevin Kantor in a way that’s only possible when someone bares their heart on the page. I was surprised to realize how much Kantor and I actually have in common, and I’m excited to see what kind of work they do next.

Please Come Off-Book has everything I need in a poetry collection: it's queer, it feels like it's written by someone who is both very smart and was once or currently is an extra theater person, and at some points it really hurts my heart. Kantor is a strong voice in poetry that I look forward to hearing more from. Definitely recommended!

Loved the representation and the #OwnVoices collection of poetry. As someone who writes poetry about my own experiences as a gay man, this was a nice way to see inside the mind of a different perspective.

What an absolutely beautiful and emotional book of poetry. It just took me on a journey through the author’s psyche and their journey accepting their gender identity. I loved this and will be recommending to many of my friends.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3893531275

This collection of poetry was very relatable to me as a queer person. I really enjoyed it and would definitely read more from this author.

As a queer person myself, I felt a strong connection to many of the pieces in this book. I particularly liked "AFTER HE TELLS ME THAT POEMS ARE FOR HOPELESS ROMANTICS, I TELL HIM" as it reflected my own attitude toward poetry and the magic of wordcraft. I feel like I need to go back through the collection again just to be sure I got my fill of their story.

I have always been a huge fan of Button Poetry (and poetry in general), so I was super excited to pick this up! This was such a work of art, simple as that. This collection was raw, heartbreaking, and real. I could definitely see myself revisiting this in the future!

Kantor has written a soul-bearing book of poems. Truth and honest are in every page. Their grief, struggles with depression and identity are written in a way that doesn't hold back. The poems are beautifully crafted both in language and shape. Lines such as these will stay with you long after you've finished reading:

"remember how busy you were
trying to figure out how they got in

that you forgot
about the person living there"

This is a book that needs to exist. Nonbinary voices are difficult to find and so very necessary. May this book find its way to the hands of nonbinary youth who can know their struggles are not singular that others know their experience and that they can push forward through the struggles.

"We are from different stories,
could only ever whisper in the wings,
& yet the men who found us, love us
share a sound that would suggest
The possibility
of something else"
Please Come Off-Book is a powerful punch-to-the-gut poetry collection that simultaneously felt like a comforting hand on the shoulder letting me know that maybe my feelings are, in fact, valid, as a fellow nonbinary person.
This is a stunning collection, probably one of my favorite modern poetry collections that I've read over the last couple of years. I'm always eager for more work by queer, nonbinary artists and this felt like exactly what I was looking to read right now.

When I saw this book - a poetry collection by a non-binary author, about theatre! - I immediately knew I wanted to read it; I am extremely pleased to say that it lived up to my hopes.

"Please Come Off Book" is a powerful, poignant collection of modern poetry built around major themes of gender, queerness, theatre, and family. These are often the explicit subjects of poems, but just as often are framing devices or casual asides; making their presence known, but not overpowering the more immediate or specific topics of the poems.

Kantor is unafraid to play with form and style, and the results are very effective; the words of one poem shape a sailboat and waves, and another plays with line spacing in an almost disorienting experience. Throughout, the language is gorgeous, the images are vivid, and the emotions are unfiltered and powerful. I found the majority of the poems to be beautifully crafted and evocative; there were a few which did not, in my opinion, match the emotional resonance and loveliness in language of the rest of the poems, but on the whole I was extremely impressed. Writing good poetry is hard, and Kantor does it well.

Some personal favorites (I've abbreviated the longer names for ease of readability in review format!) : "My Mother, Pregnant With Her Third Child ..."; "Character Study: Enkidu"; "Stage Makeup Syllabus"; "The Man Playing My Father"; "Dress Rehearsal: Final Dress".

I very much hope we'll see more poetry from Kantor in the future! Thanks to Netgalley and Button Poetry, for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I fell in love with Kevin's poetry several years ago after seeing a video of their poem People You May Know. It was one of those pieces that just rested in my chest for a while after. I felt the same when Write About Now posted a video of I Am Sure (then written as I'm Sure in the video's caption). It had me in tears and I still think about that piece every now and then. So I was so glad both pieces found a place within this collection. Kevin's work is equal parts powerful, beautiful, eye opening, and gut punching with some playfulness throughout. This collection is truly something special.

Thank you to Kevin Kantor, Button Poetry, and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

{Digital copy provided by NetGalley}

This is a vivid, powerful, and very queer collection of poetry and I loved every second of it. The language used is stunning, the social critique biting, and the theater woven into everything absolutely lovely. I bookmarked more than a dozen poems that I especially loved, and look forward to buying a physical copy to shove into all my friends and family’s faces!