Praise for Something Bright, Then Holes (2018)
"Nelson’s nexus is fluidity: gender, pleasure, desire, and the body are questioned with equal rigor as modality, criticality, and theory. Those concerns are present in Something Bright . . . But in this collection, Nelson’s heady, narcotic philosophizing is underpinned by a more personal vulnerability." The Paris Review
"Maggie Nelson's gorgeous, expansive book of poetry feels like a necessary summer read, not least because of Nelson's ability to so palpably, grotesquely, beautifully make clear the urgency of love and f*cking, as she does in the book's titular poem." NYLON, 1 of 46 Great Books to Read This Summer
"Soft Skull Press has released a gorgeous reissue of Nelson’s Something Bright, Then Holes and, despite being originally published in 2007, it’s easily one of the best books of 2018. . . . Maggie Nelson elicits genuine awe with each turn of the page. . . . Something Bright, Then Holes is candid and heartfelt, blurring the lines between poetry and storytelling fluently and with thoughtful contemplation. These poems swathe their reader and craft a voyeuristic sense of empathy; it’s as if you’re not supposed to be there. Yet, here you are.” Popscure
"Maggie Nelson’s fourth collection of poems, originally published in 2007, combines a wanderer’s attention to landscape with a deeply personal exploration of desire, heartbreak, resilience, accident, and flux."Medium, 1 of 10 Poetry Collections to Get You Through This Month
"This re-issue of Nelson's 2007 collection of poems shows the celebrated author in her most incisive and economic forma record of a protean talent in the making." Largehearted Boy, Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Book of the Week
"Nelson’s 2018 reprint provides precise evidence of her singular and true innovation in content, form, and timeless(ness). It drops controlled dollops of poetic meter, rhyme, and lyricism. It steals from multiple styles (Nelson cites her “thefts” on the acknowledgement page), it exudes nuanced understanding of postmodernity. It cries with confession; boxes with language. Nelson is raw, honest, rough, and tender." The Brooklyn Rail
Nelson's newest collection continues the genre dodging of her second poetry collection, Jane: A Mystery. Narrative, sentimental and self-indulgent, this third collection risks many possible poetic pitfalls and comes through unscathed through sheer intensity of and commitment to her voice. Over three sections, Nelson employs a consistent narrator, recognizable settings, recurring characters and a few structures closely resembling plots. But it's not fiction. And though each section also has lines, stanzas, and lyric musicality, it's "poetry" only in a very loose sense. Instead, it's a stunning collection of real-world stories shadowed by the netherworld of poetry: "The hippie tells us his dog/ has terrible luck. A week ago/ it fell into a silo; yesterday/ it got electrocuted while peeing/ on a pole. We don't really know/ how to respond. The sky is amazing/tonight, full of blurry swans." (Nov.)
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Any lover of poetry will notice the commonality of modern collections as poets craft themes to bind their prose. In her fifth collection, Nelson follows the trend but does something equally exciting and unexpected-she composes poems that can stand alone. In telling the story of a blind girl's intimate description of a hand, Nelson relays the universal tale of ceaseless longing, but the reader often has to place the book down not only to contemplate the gravity of her bravura phrases but also to enjoy the beauty of her descriptions: "Two Rastas/ have parked at the edge to play/ loud music, but even they/ can't compete with the wind." The wonder is that Nelson does not attempt to write with scholarly verses but with the raw emotion indicative of narrative poetry. In "Evensong," Nelson captures the essence of her work: "I know I could read your poems/ in the dark, but I am allowed only one/ a day, and even that's/ too much." Recommended for all libraries.-Ashanti White, Atlanta
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