3 stars
I love Gibson’s poetry. There’s a certain dark magic to the words and images they weave together that I can’t get enough of. My complaint with this book is not about Gibson’s words or style. It’s with the book in general.
I was a little disappointed once I realized this is mostly a book of bits of Gibson’s poems from other collections (Pole Dancing To Gospel Hymns, The Madness Vase, Pansy). The words are powerful but some of their meanings change when taken out of context (“It’s never polite to throw back the tear gas” from “Etiquette Leash” becomes “Throw back the tear gas”- both great lines but they each hit differently).
Still, this book is filled with little reminders of becoming, hope, and learning to love oneself. Gibson’s words still pack a punch, just in a smaller size. Filled with great one-liners and phrases.
May be a good fit for those who love Gibson’s poetry and want easy access to some of their most quotable lines. But I would not recommend it to someone who’s never read/heard any of Gibson’s work. Start with the full poems then go from there.
A nice small package for some mighty big words. I did enjoy Sarah J. Coleman’s illustrations. They pair so nicely with the written words and I loved the amount of detail in them.