Thank you, NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC!I loved almost every other poem in the book! And the ones I didn’t love, I liked.

Escaping the Body is a surreal and profound journey through space, forests, monsters, myths, spells, magic tricks, forests, and the body. Escaping the Body is a collection of dreams of the flesh, exploring the cosmic rifts between the soul and the body and the interconnectedness of living things. From bizarre doctor visits to contemplating Zombies and our current pandemic - these poems are at once tender, terrifying, and honest.

Highlights for me included: "Undue Acidity In Your Veins" - which is a horrorfest gem, "Apocalypse Scenario" - which might be THE POEM OF THE PAST TWO YEARS for me personally, and "Sci-Fi Lesson" as well as "How to Grow Your Own Forests."

If you love horror, love nature, love exploring the cracks between existence, read this collection.

Thanks to Netgalley once again.

"Are the stars so hungry they can hardly wait to taste you?"

Thank you, NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC!

I loved almost every other poem in the book! And the ones I didn’t love, I liked. I'm definitely checking out other works by this poet!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a pleasant surprise! Narrative-based poetry, which are always my favorite, with a strong focus on empathy and understanding others. Biggest themes here are nature, people who are missing, escape artists/illusions and space.

There's some poignant stuff here. Sometimes relatable, other making you go "huh", in-your-face or riddled with symbolism.

In one word? Aching. That was the biggest feeling I got throughout this entire collection, reminiscent of Patricia Lockwood but more on the speculative side. Recommended!

Favorites:
Once They Sainted a Mermaid
The Current Will Push and Pull You
Lacunae
Grow Your Own Little Forest

This was my first time reading Chloe Clarks work and I was not disappointed. Such a beautiful collection that felt eerie and powerful. I felt like I was taken on a journey start to finish, and I read the entire collection in one sitting - and I will definitely read again.

Escaping the body is a lyrical and narrative rich collection of poems, Clark takes the reader on journeys into Houdini's escapist illusions, the vast expanse of space, and as far as myths from Ancient Greece. Reading this was like taking a deep dive into the tissue of the body and learning what makes our muscles move.

My favorite poems are: "Dissolutions", "Questions for Men Falling Through Space", and "There Is No Matter."

i consumed this book in one sitting; it consumed me.

chloe has a way with words that give light to even the heaviest of feelings and situations.

she make heartbreak into beauty, and that takes serious talent.

i cannot wait to see what comes next from chloe.

A stunning and beautiful work of art. Thankful that I got to experience how Chloe Clark writes and draws the reader into the softness and the harshness of the horror of knowing oneself.

“Escaping the Body” is an apt title, as there’s a distance in this collection, as though the poet whispered the words to themself from a dream or while astral projecting. Frequent use of passive voice contributes to this sense of dissociation. The reader is left with a lingering sense of foreboding as though they might become a character in one of the science fiction or horror works referenced throughout.

This is a truly moving, truly gorgeous, volume of poetry. Clark deals with heavy topics-- bodies, loss, death, violence-- which are lent a certain kind of lightness by the exquisite beauty of her imagery. Myth, magic, monsters-- these poems create a dreamlike atmosphere that it is hard not to want to linger in. I will be thinking about this book for a long time, and how our selves relate to our bodies, and vice versa.

Picked it up based on the premise and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s very powerfully written and evocative of some ancient Greek tragedy plays (especially Girls Turned to Limbs & All Melusine’s daughters). The first poem particularly is one I’ve reread a few times already!

Thematically it’s a wonderful and potent mix of being “missing”, lost, feeling inhuman or bodiless and they play together perfectly. It does have the very well-used idea of love and desire as a hunger, but with the way the poems express the desire to beak out of the perception of a body being limited by purely human experiences.

The idea of being missing also lends itself to the reading of the book being about the commodification & objectification of women.

The structure is fairly freeform and it helps the experience feel more intimate, like late night thoughts. It also alternates between different ways of laying out the writing – keeping it engaging and making it very hard to put down.

Over all this is a very good collection of poems with a lot of depth to explore!

For the first time in a long time I read this entire book in one sitting, barely taking my eyes away from the words in front of me. Whilst I may not relate to every single aspect of Clark's poetry, and in turn her life, I related to so many of the poems in this collection that it was almost eerie. There were times I wanted to cry, times I wanted to shout "WHY IS THIS SO TRUE?" and times I sat in contemplative silence. This book is described by Interstellar Press as a profound journey and you know what, they're right.

It's very rare for me to have nothing bad to say about a book, movie or game, even the ones I love but I genuinely felt so wrapped up in the story that if I were to try to come up with something it would sound extremely forced and dishonest.

It felt as though Clark had heard the thoughts I only speak in whispers when I'm alone and turned them into poetry. Yet even when reading the poems that I related to a little less the way they were told was so immersive that it didn't matter. I haven't come across another modern poet that writes in the way that I think Clark does yet but if anyone knows of any please send me some recommendations because I can read faster than any one person can write (apart from maybe Stephen King but that's a different topic).

Overall, if you love anything mystical, rooted in nature and symbolism or exploring interpersonal relationships in new ways I would absolutely recommend this book. Despite having already read it, I will be buying a physical copy because I am in love.

I was mainly attracted by the “forest-like” horror poem idea, but after I read it, I felt it was quite an average romantic book of poems. By that, I mean that it felt like old news. I didn’t dislike it, it’s just not what I’ve expected. Some of these poems are painful to read because of their subject. I could really feel the author through some of her words. But didn’t connect with most of the poems, and that’s my main issue.

This book takes an empathetic approach and gives bite size approaches and allows you to have kindness and patience with yourself when dealing with life. This is so necessary for everyone to read in life. Highly recommend. Especially loved the reflection to true life to humanize my feelings and relate. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.