| Title | : | Algorithmic Shapeshifting: Poems |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | - |
| Publication | : | First published May 1, 2019 |
Algorithmic Shapeshifting: Poems Reviews
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This is my first poetry collection, coming in May/June 2019 from Aqueduct Press! With a foreword by the awesome Lisa M. Bradley.
Cover announcement and Patreon special offer:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/public-...
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Source of the book: I wrote it! (Does this count for my yearly challenge?!) -
Playful, rich, and inventive, this first poetry collection from Bogi Takács tackles the problems of the world head-on while also inspiring to rise above them.
Algorithmic Shapeshifting is a varied book; the earliest poem in it was first published in 2011, with the latest ones being new to the book. The situations and stories described within range from secondary-world fantasy to outer space, to distant past, to modern-day Hungary. But in some ways it also feels like one story, or maybe like it forms a pattern on a tapestry: clear thematic strands weave through and reemerge, uncontained by the four sections into which the books is divided.
The first thing that struck me about Takács’ poetry is that it’s intensely trans-personal. There is a desire for transcendence, framed not as a way of detaching oneself, but quite the opposite – as contact with the world. This can mean the joys of collaboration (The Iterative Nature of the Magical Discovery Process) or forming a family, bodily transformations that have an element of kink to them (Gently Chew to Soften the Ridges, Overlays), but also an attachment to history and tradition (Six Hundred and Thirteen Commandments), or the numinous in nature (Outside-in / Catalytic Exteriorization). There is an interplay between wanting to leave the body – even if only temporarily – or have it transformed and the body being the medium through which you can feel and realise that want. It’s a joy that wants to burst forth, carried by the richness and sensuality of the language:
“I stagger through a nighttime landscape
of power lines while the light of the full moon
scatters, flickers in pools of groggy dark water
and the grid hums inside my chest cavity”
– from Outside-in / Catalytic Exteriorization.
This exuberant, fluid mode of being encounters certain challenges when confronted with the world. There are institutions that will bring their absolute best (meaning: worst) to control you because you’re only valuable if you’re of use to them (The Handcrafted Motions of Flight) and, currently, in many places of the world (including – though not limited to – the US, where the author lives, Hungary, where e comes from, and Poland, where I live) there is a rising tide of intolerance and outright fascism: a movement for a tightly confined and prescribed existence that wants to annihilate any deviation and transgression. And so in certain poems the lyrical language is poured into forms we don’t necessarily associate with poetry – most notably in The Oracle of DARPA, where a transcript of an interrogation is being disrupted by bursts of poetry, transformed and trans-scribed. The rules and conventions belonging to certain forms can be more than a tool of oppression: they can be a game. Some poems become more or less reliable guides and sources of advice that can lead you in interesting directions or save your skin (Seven Handy Ideas for Algorithmic Shapeshifting; The Tiny English-Hungarian Phrasebook for Visiting Extraterrestrials). Takács’ poetry is infused with a sense playfulness, levity, and humour, and so the formats become a source of fun and subversion that breaks even the constraints of the book as a medium and object (You Are Here / Was: Blue Line to Memorial Park, a transcript of an interactive poem which you can – and in my opinion should – proceed through
here).
As it progresses, the collection seems to dip steadily closer to present-day Earth, with the third section ending with the striking Two-Tailed Triptych: a melancholy look of an emigrant at a homeland drifting increasingly rightwards (I can certainly relate). But then the last part is once again a reaffirmation of the radiant Being whose manifestations recurred in different guises throughout, as well as the possibility of love and connection. Algorithmic Shapeshifting tells us that we – as members of gender, sexual, and ethnic minorities, as migrants, as people – are so much larger than everything that would reduce us to spare parts or fuel for the machines of hate. We cannot be contained.
Disclaimer: I received an electronic review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. -
CW found in the back of the book: cissexism, imperialism, colonialism, self-harm, blood, body horror, insects, anti-migrant sentiment, warfare and violence, misogyny, gaslighting, genocide, anti-Semitism, racism, Nazism, death, police, and mention of firearms.
Ever since e started talking about this book on twitter, I was immediately interested. I love all types of poetry, no matter if they’re contemporary, historical, or science fiction based and this book had all of them with a strong sense of religion and being transgender at the core.
This was an amazing ownvoice poetry collection with beautiful descriptions and it felt like I was drawn into a different world with each poem. E has an amazing voice when it comes to word choice and how to portray eir experiences. It was a weird collection, but definitely in a good way.
Many of the poems seemed very personal but, especially the ones describing the trans and nonbinary experience, resonated strongly with me. A few collections talk about what it’s like to be autistic and the types of experiences many Jewish people face as they deal with racism while just trying to live their life. Others have a strong focus on nature and becoming more in tune with it.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the author and am leaving an honest review. -
I will be posting a longer review on my blog soon. For now: Bogi Takacs is amazing.
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Algorithmic Shapeshifting by Bogi Takács is a collection of mostly speculative poems. I'm not a big reader of poetry, but I have mostly enjoyed, for example, the poems that appear in Uncanny Magazine. Since I also enjoy Takács's writing, this seemed like a good place to start reading more poetry.
There is a variety of poems contained in this collection, from very short to longer works and written in different styles. Some are more narrative and some more abstract. A lot of them tell a story, although a few (fewer than I expected, to be honest) went over my head. Some were very sweet love poems, some were chilling dystopian tales. Most tended towards the science fictional or the fantastical, which definitely appealed to me. Several poems engaged with Jewish themes in various ways. A few were less conventional (I think that's the right description) such as "The Tiny English-Hungarian Phrasebook for Visiting Extraterrestrials" which told a story in a clever way, and "The Oracle of DARPA", which was an amusing poem in the form of an interview between DARPA trying to build a weapon and an oracle giving oblique answers and unexpected side effects.
With short story collections and anthologies I usually include comments on each story unless it's flash fiction. I didn't think that would work for me with poems, so instead I'm just going to discuss/react to some of the poems that stood out for me. I was expecting "A User Guide to the Application of Gem-Flowers" to be horrific rather than wholesome. I was wrong. "Trans Love Is" was very sweet, as were a few other love poems I didn't explicitly mark out. "Periodicity" and "Flee to Far Shores" were both about leaving bad political situations and migration; I found them quite meaningful. I found the sort-of-reveal at the end of "The Third Extension" quite satisfying. "A Hail of Pebbles and Dust" was particularly science fictional, about a tidally locked planet. I liked the way "The Size of a Barleycorn, Encased in Lead" engaged with the idea of time-proof sign-posting (for nuclear waste). "Six Hundred and Thirteen Commandments" told a nice story in several verses spread across time, about completing commandments in different lives.
Finally, I want to mention that I had a review copy of the ebook and there were a few typographical notes in there about how the ebook differs in presentation from the original, intended form. One poem ought to have had two verses printed on opposite sides of a double page spread. Another was originally published in an animated form online and, although there description prefacing it was quite accurate, I didn't fully understand the point until I clicked through to see the original version. It's interesting, given these two examples, that neither the ebook or the paper book can be truely said to be the definitive version of the entire collection. I kind of like the idea of there no being one true version...
If you are a fan of poetry or Takács's writing more generally, then I heartily recommend this collection. I am far from being an expert in speculative poetry, but I enjoyed it a lot and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to others who are also interested in reading more speculative poetry (perhaps in between their speculative fiction).
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog. -
This collection of poetry is beautiful and amazing.
I must preface: I am not a literary scholar nor a subject matter expert on the themes highlighted; all I can do is provide my thoughts, and hope they represent the collection adequately! But I want to provide those thoughts, in case they might convince you to pick this up. This deserves attention.
Even when writing pain, frustration, or satire, Bogi Takács writes with such inherent compassion and optimism that the experience settles deep within. Then, the feelings are especially resounding and radiant when e writes of joy. And there is always a light breeze of humor, often winding with hope. I found reading this collection very calming on the inside while sensory and prickly on the outside. Every word is chosen. Nuances considered. Brushstrokes within lines not intended. It is so much better than I am able to describe.
Addressing other reviews I've seen, if you must fully understand everything that you read, this may not be the best collection for you. It is unlikely most readers share the author's intersection of experiences and study. Yet, I found the collection openly accessible, in that e paints a picture - a scene, surrounding you. And you are really invited, I felt, to sense and learn from the journey. The invitation to let go of control and just experience - was poetry in itself. The mix of familiarity and unfamiliarity is part of the whole point, I think. It's brilliant.
I will note: I had the honor of meeting the author and e gave me this copy from eir own hands, so I felt like I received a personal pass to board. And just being around em (and eir family) for a short time gave me a slightly better sense of where these poems grew from. Yet, if you follow Mx. Takács on Twitter (@bogiperson), you should have a sense as well, and I think also this same invitation. E is fairly open about some aspects of eir experiences, likely for layered reasons. But, yes, a sense of this poet does I think enhance the experience. Perhaps that is true of all writing that is personal in nature. Or perhaps what I'm trying to express is how personal these poems feel, even when they hold a distance.
To Bogi if e sees this, I will say reading this collection brought me great sensation. And purpose. I've been struggling with anxiety issues that had delayed me reading this, and once it called me to it and I sat to absorb it in full, your words calmed me, both my chest and my mind, which is not so easy to do right now. Thank you. I will revisit it again, I am certain. Feeling something new each time. And I also want to say something that is important, having met you and read your book: I like you.
I probably didn't say all this right, so I will summarize:
I am very moved by this awesome collection, and hope you will also enjoy it. -
This collection was just as strange and intense as I was expecting--a must read!
Read the full review on my blog. -
VERY GOOD
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There are many layers of beauty, pain, and compassion in this collection, which are perhaps best expressed through the words of the author themself —
"What do you see of me?
I live sandwiched in between rectangular walls
painted a nondescript gray,
a hundred stories underground
on a planet without an atmosphere.
I crave these little flares
of information and heart,
knowing I can offer precious little
of my lived experience in return.
Why do you love me, I wonder
as I lie back on my cot
and listen to the nighttime sounds
of the dormitory, the sneezes
rustles and coughs.
Our recycled air is always dry.
Why do you need me?
Do you see all the gray?"
— from "A Self-Contained Riot of Lights" -
Unfortunately, the whole thing was just far too esoteric for me to comprehend or even enjoy. I wanted to understand, but I feel like that could only happen if someone explained it to me.
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DNFed at p.25
Just not my kind of poetry.
