Smart, witty and interesting. Enjoyed these poems. I read a couple months ago, so I don't remember details, but I enjoyed the collection.

A mixed-media examination of language, culture, speech and music. Taking on histories of the written word from ancient to modern times, as well as the digitization of the social sphere in our contemporary moment.

A super interesting read! Zilm uses her librarian work as well as her connection to bible studies and mental health to create thought provoking pieces on the way we interpret language and ourselves. Some of the enjoyment for me was in the wittiness of the query poems as well as the gorgeous use of metaphor and visual language. Some poems get bogged down in the "wordiness" and might be a turn off for (excuse the pun) first time poetry readers, but I think avid poetry fans will enjoy the depth.

My favorite poems are: " Devotional: Hastings & Princess", "Hey! Fever", "QUERY: Is it true I can get any book online?", and "First Time Listener: A how-to guide."

I felt a little frustrated reading this collection as I had a hard time finding a way for it to settle for me. There were some clever moments with the acts of reading and understanding interpretations of language, but the language itself did not feel as strong as I might have liked.

Some of this review appeared in my stories on Instagram on 8/4/22,

PS: I am having difficulty signing in to GoodReads due to the Facebook connectivity error, but I will put this review onto GoodReads as soon as I can log in again.

Absolutely stunning cover!! This is a thought provoking poetry collection. I particularly enjoyed the last poem, "The professor opens", I think it's the perfect piece to end on. I look forward to picking this back up time and time again.

Thanks to NetGalley and Guernica Editions for providing a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions here are my own.

High art poetry book that will undoubtedly appeal to the masses as well as poetry fans. I enjoyed many of the pieces and am still thinking about the prose.