I was immediately drawn to this because of thw cover. The illustrations are amazing and the while thing is just great! Poetry, feminism, amazing artwork. What's not to like?

I usually don’t read poetry books, but this concept of a poetry anthology in graphic novel form, piqued my interest.

I loved the different kinds of illustrations and the poetic literature that went with them. Some of them were simply brilliant.

A well illustrated and well thought out poetic rendition. It is definitely a unique and refreshing idea!

I am not a very frequent reader of poetry but really like all kinds of picture narratives which is why I was so interested in this anthology. I had hoped that the combination of these two formats would make the reading experience more accessible to me and for some stories it did, unfortunately not for all of them. What I did notice was that the farther I got into the book the easier it was for me to follow along and fully immerse in the stories. So I might give it a reread sometime and see if that will help me. Still, I would absolutely recommend this book because the variety of perspectives (outside the norm) that we get is just amazing and I was fascinated by all the different art styles.

eARC received in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley

This is a poetry anthology in graphic novel form. All of the poems offer a feminine perspective, some considering the feminine in conjunction with other issues (race – e.g. “Red Woman;” or gender – e.g. “Gender Studies.”) As one might expect of an anthology, the poetic and artistic styles vary considerably from one entry to the next. That said, the 23 poems are predominantly short (most written or excerpted to fit one page) free verse poems that focus heavily on human experiences that are either unique to womanhood (e.g. motherhood) or for with the feminine perspective is quite distinctive (e.g. migration, war, etc.) While the artistic styles are quite varied, they are of a range one would see as a reader of graphic novels -- some rough, some cartoonish, and some elaborate.

While the anthologized works all conform to a common feminist motif, there is quite a variety of topics and tones across the various pieces. The most widespread topic is that of motherhood, though from various perspectives (i.e. new mother, mother-to-be, prospective mother, a daughter’s relationship with mother, etc.) and attitudes. There are visceral entries that deal in various traumas – e.g. “Speak-House” (deals with the question of whether one speaks of trauma of living in a war zone freely) or “University Toxic” (which describes an incident of sexual harassment.) Love and relationships is another recurring theme (e.g. “To the Cherry Blossoms on 16th and Wharton” and “Drown.”) Other topics touched upon include menopause and wicca / witchcraft. [On a related note: While it does have a serious side, “Capitalism Ruins Everything, Even Witch Craft” is probably the most humorous of the poems, dealing with the issue of how quickly spiritual practices that propose to eschew materialism become the most outlandishly materialistic domains of all.]

The included artistic styles reflect realism (e.g. “Good Bones,”) surrealism (e.g. “Rubble Girls” and “Gender Studies.”) My favorite artwork of the book was in “Half Girl, Then Elegy.” Its panels are vivid, evocative, and beautifully rendered. (It’s also one of my favorite poems of the collection.) That said, favorites are very personal, and your view may vary. “Settlement” (which deals with immigration) is another of the more attractively illustrated works, as well as being quite an intense poem.

There aren’t a lot of poetry collections that employ graphic novel style illustration. Besides making the anthology more aesthetically pleasing, this approach offers a couple of other benefits. The most obvious is that the illustrations offer another reader’s (the illustrator(s)) perception of the poem -- presumably a take on the poem that came about via discussion with the poet. [Note: this might not be seen as a benefit to all readers. Some might want to take the poem in without being subject to the interpretation of another. A nice feature of this book is that each poem is presented in text form after the illustrated version, giving the reader an opportunity to take the poem in without being flavored by a third-party perspective. Thus, one can read the poem straight first, and then go back and take in the illustrated edition (granted it would be a more awkward reading experience,) but it would let one compare one’s own picture of the poem with that of another.] A less apparent benefit is that it makes it easier to influence the pacing and pausing of reading. Dramatic use of white space for just this purpose has been used by poets for a long time, but building the textboxes around the art can make pacing changes all the more apparent.

There is a study guide and sketch art included as ancillary material. The former consists of a few questions about each poem that might be used by a book club or the like.

I thought this was a splendid collection of poems, and the art all worked – whether it was simple and chaotic or stunningly beautiful. I’d recommend readers of poetry check this anthology out, particularly if one likes the idea of merging the graphic and poetic arts.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

2.5⭐️

I think this is a really nice collection overall, and I like how different both the poems and the art styles were in this! I think my biggest issue was probably that a combo of me expecting all the people on the cover (which is STUNNING) to be featured in the book, which they were not at all, the description of it promising too much, and me having English as a second language (Supposed native-like competence tho). Like, I was SO hyped for this book since I'm a big feminist and love anything with good rep, but I felt like it didn't deliver to that level at which it had hyped me up. I also found several of the poems REALLY hard to understand, and found that some of the illustrations / comics for them were dividing up lines / parts in the poem in a weird way that disrupted the whole flow! For quite a few of them I understood literally nothing when I was reading it with the comic, but once I read the full poem at the end of the part I understood either parts or the whole poem. So good that the full poem is included at the end of each part, but also not good that the illustrations/comics for some/many of them were not really adding to the story at all.
Really glad it had a study guide at the end!!!

Overall a decent one, but wished the cover actually showed people from all the comics and that the comics were acting even more as support for the poem.

I am new to NetGalley and this was the first book I was approved for. So when I I couldn’t get this to actually download, I thought it was just me. But after seeing other’s feedback, I know it’s not just me. I tried downloading this book on multiple devices, but only got errors and couldn’t get access to it. I would have loved to read this because it sounded right up my alley, but it looks like I will have to just wait and read it when it comes out.

Outstanding! I’m generally not a poetry reader but this anthology had enough variety to keep me focused, and the beautiful art on every page helped me visual much more strongly than I usually can from put words on a page. It gave an extra depth to every poem. Some confronting, some gentle, some kind, some funny - a beautiful collection.

This was my first time reading a poetry collection that is also illustrated. There are some that I liked or related to more than others, but overall I really enjoyed this. The poems felt real and raw and really grab a readers attention and pull at the heart and soul. This is perfect if you like to read poems that challenge your beliefs and make you feel something new or experience life from a different perspective.

Full disclosure, I'm not the biggest poetry fan; but I always appreciate it when people put out their feelings in the ways that matter. After looking at all of these it gave me plenty of feels and appreciation of all the people who put out their hardest. Granted some things I don't understand, but maybe I'm not meant to.

Not all struggles are meant to be on paper, hopes maybe but that's besides the point. There's a lot of life experience that feels so authentic. The creatives involved accomplish more on a few pages than some longer form storytellers do in the mainstream.

I was interested to see how pairing poetry with comic book art would work, but I was glad of the poems being printed as plain text after each comic. It highlighted how the new context drove entirely different readings. Generally I preferred the work of the artists that responded with dream like shifting imagery over those that introduce a more linear narrative with their drawings. Rubble Girl and Gender Studies stood out as I felt the artwork in these reflected best the abstract experience of reading poetry. However the poem in the collection that I found the most enthralling was Capitalism Ruins Everything, Even Witchcraft. The illustrations of the instability of belief, rejection and betrayal and comfort of the contemporary witchy aesthetic confirmed the poem’s uneasy relationship with its own content kept me returning to it.

awwww I love this so much. This is so good to bring about awareness and this was just such a sweet amazing graphic novel to really bring about self-love for everyone. AND the artwork was PHENOMENAL>
I still think it is soooo amazing how so many of these authors and illustrators came together to create this :)

highly recommend!!

I tried to download this poetry collection multiple times, all I have is a link to the PDF download. The PDF will not read across any of my devices, and there was no e-reader or NetGalley app link, which makes no sense. Would have really loved to read it, but unfortunately that won’t happen right now. Will wait until the collection comes out and then hopefully read it.

Firstly, this collection has quite a number of poems with triggering content so do be careful. I can’t find a list of all of the trigger warnings but here’s what I remember off the top of my head: miscarriage, sexual harassment.

This was a fascinating reading experience. I had never come across illustrated poetry before stumbling onto this anthology and I’m definitely going to be looking into it some more. As with all anthologies there were some poems and illustrations I loved and some I wasn’t as fond of. I will say that with this, unlike other anthologies I’ve read, there weren’t any poems that I actively or vehemently disliked, just some I didn’t fully understand. The book includes a study guide with a couple of questions/comments about each poem that provide some additional context which I really appreciated.

The über popular poem Good Bones by Maggie Smith is included in here with illustrations by Carola Borelli which was one of my favorites, as were Half Girl, Then Elegy by Omotara James (illustrated by Ayşegül Sınav), Bassam by Ruth Awad (illustrated by Emily Pearson), Incantation by Paul Tran (illustrated by Jude Vigants), and Drown by Venus Trash (illustrated by Y Sanders). The collection presents a wide variety of poets and artists and the illustrations were as intersectional as advertised which I really appreciated. Overall this was a really thought provoking collection that has given me a lot of authors and artists to research and provided me with a reading experience I’ve never had before. The only negative thing is that a couple of the poems weren’t illustrated fully and as the illustrations are placed before the text only version of the poems, you might not realize it unless you read all of text only versions.


I feel like this anthology would be great for people who want to read more poetry but are hesitant out of fear they won’t understand it. The illustrations and study guide really help to make the poems more accessible and understandable. I also like this would probably a great resource for educators and could provide a new and more accessible way to teach poetry to reluctant students. Older students only though, it’s definitely not appropriate for a younger crowd.

This collection is as varied as the authors themselves. I found myself drawn to certain pieces, both in their art style and lyricism. However, I will admit that I was very happy to see the poems in full text at the end of each artistic version. I found trying to read them in the context of graphics and comic strips a bit less enjoyable than I expected.

Embodies beautifully brings together empowering voices with gorgeous visual art of cis female, trans and nonbinary artists. Whether you are newly drawn to poetry or have shelves and shelves of poets, you'll fall in love with both the powerful poetic words and beautiful visual art in this work. This anthology moved me to tears, despair, and hope while filling my soul with images I will take with me for days to come.

I received a free e-ARC from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Embodied is honestly like nothing I have ever read before. I'm not even sure I can write a review to do it justice, because it really is something you have to experience for yourself.
The book consists of a series of poems which are accompanied by images, so it's basically illustrated poetry. And it is beautiful. Each poem explored some aspect of the lived experience of women (cis-, transgender, and non-binary) in this gorgeous intersectional feminist anthology. Common themes related to gender, sexuality, the body, identity, and heritage, I didn't love (or even understand) every poem, but that is where the visuals worked wonders, because I felt like they captured the spirit of the poem. Sometimes literally, and sometimes they more metaphorical. And every single illustrated poem were completely different from each other. No two art styles were alike, and they added so much depth to the poems. Even the lettering played a part.
I don't think I can recommend this anthology enough. It is moving, poignant, and gorgeously illustrated.

A beautiful collection of brave voices and tales.
Poetry is so subjective and can be interpreted in many ways, so the illustrations that accompanied the prose made each piece more unique and added extra depth to the collection.
Loved it, and will recommend this for our school library

Unfortunately I was unable to open the file. I tried Pocketbook and Adobe Digital. I'm rating the book a five because of the content and bravery of all who shared their stories.

I was so excited to check this out, but have no way to download/read it. That being said, this is something that I’ll more than likely need a physical copy of.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for an advance copy of this graphic novel in return for an honest review.

This is an absolutely stunning collection of graphic poetry. The ways that the art enhances and changes the poems, and the ways that the words influence the art...it's creative, beautiful, moving, innovative. Altogether spectacular. I gulped it down in two sittings, but it's a book that deserves a much slower second read. There were so many layers to each poem, and the ways they were translated/interpreted into graphic form. I've never read a book quite like this and I won't soon forget it.