DIG by Bryan Borland

DIG Reviews

• 
  BookChampions

  "Isn't it funny how we run from things that make us / beautiful?" This is one of my favourite lines of poetry, and it comes from a poem called "Dive" from a book called Dig by a poet name Bryan Borland.
  
  I love everything about this book, but mostly because I see so much of myself in Borland's worldview. This book is so full of love, even while it examines the self-criticism that nags at us; it avoids self-deprecation and is always reaching for moments of transcendence and pleasure. Plus, it doesn't hurt that the language dances with emotions across the page.
  
  Is there anything more beautiful that this?:
  
  "My husband worries he will not be
  a good father. I fear turbulence and runway fires, everything
  that could go wrong. I do not fear nights when our son will cry.
  I’ve heard the songs my husband will sing. I rest easy."
  
  Borland is up there with Chen Chen and Danez Smith as my three favourite modern poets.
• 
  Carlee

  This reminded me of just how much I love poetry. I love how poetry really allows the writer to break down and show the reader something so personal and sometimes ugly/beautiful intimate things in their life. Some made me smile, some made me cry. Unadulterated realness is what this is. You close the book having felt that you've seen a piece of a person, part of their heart and soul, which is exactly what it's meant to be.
  
  Plus, the cover is amazing; the word is actually cut out and what you see inside the words are actually on the first page. It's beautiful and really speaks to what this collection of poems are about.
• 
  John

  Rich vocab--tight--relevant currency--
• 
  Courtney LeBlanc

  A gorgeous collection of poetry that covers love, sexuality, relationships, family, homophobia, religion, and acceptance. Beautifully written and engaging, this a book I'll return to.
  
  From Dig, the title poem: "You want the dirt, / all the sin and tendon / you think are under these nails. I bed, / instead, forget ten years of my life. / Let's redact the documents, change / the sheets on the bed. Draw lines / through names and dates. Relationships / are never linear."
  
  From Sledgehammer: "He is / the anticipation of a second kiss. The knowledge / of hunger in another mouth."
  
  From Mirror Boys: "My husband worries he will not be / a good father. I fear turbulence and runway fires, everything / that could go wrong. I do not fear nights when our son will cry. / I've heard the songs my husband will sing. I rest easy."
  
  Overall, a wonderful collection of poems, highly recommended.