Disconnected is a collection of short stories and poetry. I loved the concept and really like the common tie between the different entries. However, I had a hard time getting into the flow of things as this is neither a collection of poems or a collection of short stories, but rather both. There were definite moments of brilliance, and I thoroughly enjoyed the collection, but I felt like it could have been more. The short stories just weren't enough, and it was odd that they eventually ended and just became poetry. The theme variances were also a bit hard to get used to. I did really enjoy the read. 3* I received this copy for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed this collection of short stories and poetry. I actually really liked how they displayed a short story and a poem from each of the ten authors. I really liked reading from each author in two different forms. I loved the poems in this book, and I liked most of the short stories. But to me, this collection isn't anything that spectacular and it took me a while to get through. I'm sure that other people would love this entire collection, but I would still recommend picking this up if only to read the poems.

A strong poetry/short story anthology.

I have previously read poetry from most of these authors so I was intrigued to see their prose.
In general, I really enjoyed all of the stories. I didn't expect fantasy, but the fantastical ones turned out to be my favourite. There were a couple of stories which felt really "disconnected" to the rest; they really stood out as lacking the ability to hold a reader, but even they were easy to read through. Not one story felt like a chore.

Overall, I loved the concept, loved a few of the stories, and liked the rest.
I'd definitely be interested in more anthologies with similar and/or unusual concepts!

Anthologies are always hard for me to rate and review, but I found this especially difficult. Whilst all on the same theme of connections, as the title suggests, I was surprised by how romantically inclined this felt. The first few short stories in particular were very focused on romantic relationships, which were not to my particular enjoyment, although the endings of these did surprise me if not redeem the stories. The poems diverged onto a more diverse range of topics and I loved almost every one of these. The stories, however, were not all to my taste, which I guess could not have been expected from samplings from such a large selection of writers.

This is an interesting project with a great concept and a lot of talented poets. The editor asked the contributors to write poems that were then passed on to each other as inspiration for short stories or other poems in what could be called a poetic game of telephone. Some of the stories and poems are stronger than others, as you would expect. If you're a fan of any of the poets involved, you'll most likely enjoy the collection. From the editor's note, it seems like one goal of [Dis]connected is to push back against the critics of "instapoetry" and today's young poets. I think it heartily achieves that goal.

This was a really great collection of poetry and short stories. The fact that contemporary poets are paired together to write short stories based on the other's poem is such a great premise and a great exercise in creative writing too. I loved the way the poems and stories connected together and the way each poet chose to interpret lines or ideas in each others poems and use that as a starting point from the story.



Some stories highlight words and phrases from the poem that have been used and some include a note on how they have interpreted the poem. This was really helpful as a reader. I particularly enjoyed Cyrus Parker's poem and story, both were real but dark and I liked that reality.



Another Entry that I really enjoyed was the short story by Yena Sharma Purmasir. The beauty of this is that I have not come across this poet before and so I will now go out and see what else I can find that they have written-genius! I didn't connect with each and every poem and story, but again that is the beauty of a collection like this. I did read everything, I discovered new writers and I connected with quite a few poems.



Make sure you check out the content of each of the stories before picking this one up in case there are triggers for you but otherwise, I would really recommend this collection, especially if you are only just discovering these contemporary poets, this is a great mix!

Just as the title (Dis)Connected is unique, so is the concept of this book. Take a group of current day poets, and have each poet write one poem, and one short story based on another poet's (in the group) poem. The working theme for each poem/story is that in this age where we are so digitally connected, we are more disconnected from others than ever before. Everything about this book intrigues me.

Some of the pairings work better than others, and some poets are better at writing short stories than others, but this is a very interesting collection of work! The full range of human emotions are covered within these pages, and it's fascinating to see the variety of styles, and stories written given the common theme.

This is one to add to your list.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Central Ave Publishing for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

I  received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This was a fascinating collection of stories and poems from several authors. I liked the flow that most of the stories to poems had. Amanda Lovelace was my favorite in this book!

[Dis]Connected is a patchwork of beautifully written stories and poems that capture the imagination, as we find, lose and appreciate those connections we make in life. The premise of the book is to explore, why in an ever-connected world we are seeing isolation and disconnection with so many people. We have created a world where the ability to connect with others is truly awesome but that brings both positive and negative opportunities to interact or feel omitted.

Michelle Halket, very cleverly commissioned this book to illustrate the theme of Connection and Disconnection from a group of contemporary poets. Michelle challenged this concept by asking each poet to write 3 poems, which would be randomly assigned to another group member, who would then write a short story based on one of the poems.

Many of the stories and poems could have existed on their own but perhaps the thematic focus on [Dis]Connection, urges us to peer deeper into the literary works to identify where those thoughts are illustrated. In many ways, it is an ingenious way of increasing the impact of a story or poem. What we have in this collection of short stories and poems is a diverse range of settings and emotions. From real hardships to fantasy, from post-apocalyptic to supernatural, and from new-beginnings to murder.

The flow of the book is a poem followed by a short story for about 85% of the book and the final 15% are the other 2 poems from each poet. If you love poetry, short stories and genre variety, you’ll love this beautifully crafted interconnected book.

I would like to thank Michelle Halket, Central Avenue Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC version of the book in return for an honest review.

Absolutely adored this collection. What a brilliant idea, and what a nightmare it must have been to put together.

It’s a very quick read and I found myself disappointed that it was over so soon. Granted, some stories don’t always match up with the quality of the poems they were influenced by (and vice versa), but it didn’t really matter that much since I couldn’t help but be impressed by the creative and unexpected turns those stories took.

Will probably be going out and buying a physical copy on the back of this collection.

With thanks to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely adored Disconnected in every way. The short stories gave so much depth to the poems, it was amazing.

A stunning collection of interlinked poems and short stories about humanity. Such an interesting read and a valuable tool in reading for growth

4 stars!
This collection of poetry was really good !! I liked most of the texts. I recommend this receuil to all those who love poetry in general. Thanks to Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange of my honest review.

A collection of short stories and poetry, Disconnected is a book that features an incredible collection of poetic talent from the likes of Amanda Lovelace and Nikita Gill.

The stories are really something in this book, sometimes hard hitting, sometimes beautiful, in particular Cyrus Parker’s and Amanda Lovelace’s stories really strike me in this book, (Spoiler: in fact, give me a whole freakin’ novel of Amanda Lovelace’s short story I’m here for polyamorous selkies).

In between these stories are poems that just space these stories out perfectly. Nikita Gill and R.H.Swaney’s contributions in particular are excellent and really add to the connections of these stories. The variety of contributors in this book is immense but they all work flawlessly together to create something truly great with this book, bringing emotion and flowing poetry to the fore.

A book that blooms as it goes, if you need a short story collection, get this one.

This was a cute and quick read.

I like when collections match an overall theme and aren't divided from each other - here we get a literal alternation, with one author's poem preceding another author's short story and poem, repeating for a total of 10 short stories and 10 poems (though there were bonus poems at the end that were good to read).

There were some short stories and poems that resonated with me more than others, just because they were more interesting to read. I like the selkie story, and the Train short story as well. I didn't pay attention to the author's names specifically though, mostly because I don't focus on those details as much (particularly as with the authors in this collection, I only knew one by name!)

I could see myself rereading the stories and poems I enjoyed, and if i ever had a physical copy, I would probably annotate it with post-it tabs a lot.

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4/5

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This was an ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for granting my wish!

Wooohooooo I got my wish! Thank you so much to Central Avenue Publishing for granting me the opportunity to read an e-arc of this poetry collection in exchange for an honest review! Thank you also to Netgalley, which is a great platform as always!

Sooo...poetry...I think that I’ve read maybe one poetry book until this year, but lately I am growing quite a fondness for it! Poetry really can get you out of a reading slump as well, since it’s mostly shorter in length and easier to absorb but still packs a punch!

First and foremost the idea of getting all of these poets together to create short stories and show their readers that they can do so much more with their talent- great! But, the “premise” of each author coming together and playing off one another’s poetry by writing a short story of their own was pure genius! We need so many more of these bundles —ASAP please! 🙏🏻❤️🤞🏻

So after all of that being said I must admit that I really didn’t “connect”- yes pun intended -with too many of the stories or poems that were written in this collection. I think maybe that could be because it is very hard to grasp what is going on in another writer’s mind when they publish something. Making a
“ connection” to someone else’s work and having to produce something based on your own mind frame or interpretation seems very difficult.

I will tell you this — my favorite duo was by far “Astral Travel “ by Amanda Lovelace & “ A Way to Leave” by R.H. Swaney. My favorite runner up story would definitely be “ The train” by Liam Ryan.

I also found it funny that my top 4 favorite poems were NOT those that were selected to be turned into stories, and they all resided in the back. They were…

-Erratics by Nikita Gill
-A Book and It’s Girl by Amanda Lovelace
-Stained Glass Mirror by Cyrus Parker
- Beauty in the bones by R.H. Swaney

I definitely will be checking out poetry by a few of these authors that I wouldn’t have otherwise as well ❤️

3.5 stars and I hope you do a compilation like this again!

As some of you may know, I've been trying to read more poetry this year. I've mentioned that a couple of times already - it's part of why I read Amanda Lovelace's first two poetry collections. So when I heard that she and other poets would be participating in a sort of anthology of poetry and short stories, all about being [dis]connected? I just knew this was something I had to read.

The book
Humanity exists in a hyper connected world, where our closest friends, loves and enemies lie but a keyboard stroke away. Few know this better than the poets who have risen to the top of their trade by sharing their emotion, opinion and art with millions of fans.

Combining the poetic forces of some of today’s most popular and confessional poets, this book presents poems and short stories about connection wrapped up in a most unique exercise in creative writing. Follow along as your favorite poets connect with each other; offering their poetry to the next poet who tells a story based on the concept presented to them. With poetry, stories and art, [Dis]Connected is a mixed media presentation of connection and collaboration.

The opinion
Now the set up of this collection is described in the introduction as stemming from:

What would happen if this poetry craze was just a fad. What the next "thing" was. How many of these poets knew each other. How supportive they were of each other against those who think their craft is instagrammable garbage."

The editor goes on:

How contemporary poetry is a most wonderful form of art that is bringing together people from all over the world

Both of those, for me at least, are very strong "selling points". It is true that, these days, poetry seems to be going through something of a revival. The idea that you can have something from all these poets in just one book? It's basically like the perfect way to expand your field of poetry to read.

Then, of course, there's the theme of the collection: being [dis]connected. I could ramble on now about how, in this time of ultra-connectivity, so many people feel so terribly alone and disconnected. I don't have to, though, those are the facts of the world, at this point.

What does need to be mentioned, is that this collection highlights just how disconnected people often truly are. From goddesses on earth, to mythical creatures to the #metoo movement... In so many ways, this collections highlights not only that we are often disconnected, but also the many ways in which we can be connected.

I've grown to see this world as a home, the internet as our electricity, and us as appliances connected in different areas, achieving different things.

Now, of course, this isn't *just* a poetry collection. Each poet offered three poems, and one of the other poets than chose of these to write a short story. Now, 100% personal opinion? I think Cyrus Parker's short story was the most "shocking" (or shaking, because I basically was, when I was reading it). Trista Mateer's short story was the most beautiful, while I Nikita Gill's was the most magical. Although, it does have a strong competitor in Amanda Lovelace's for that title. Honestly, that might just be what explains this best: I cannnot choose a favorite. Each of the short stories has such a completely different tone, setting, theme and yet is connected through that notion of disconnection... Any favorite I choose would be replaced 5 minutes later for a completely different reason.



All of them left me putting the collection away, and needing a moment to recover.

The rating: 4/5
It is incredibly hard to "rate" poetry. As I have now discovered - the same can be said for short stories. When you consider that poetry is meant to "make you feel something", however, I can only confirm that this collection absolutely succeeded at that. The short stories were both easy to read and hard to dismiss, so if that feels like something you could enjoy? Definitely give this one a read!

-Saar

This was a unique book of poetry written by several women.
It was quite enjoyable.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

[Dis]connected is a unique collection of contemporary writing, in which poets write poems on the theme of connection and then write a short story about another writer's poem from the collection. The result is an emotional collection that takes similar lines and concepts in different directions. On one hand, it is a great way to discover new writers, and on the other, it is fresh work from all the writers involved too.

Though there are a lot of good poems in the book, it is the short stories that come after each poem, written by a different author, which really make it. They often take the poem in unexpected directions, often changing the kind of connection too. My personal favourite was a short story featuring Artemis that looks at recovery and also retelling myths.

The combination of forms (predominantly alternated until the end, which has the poems that don't have short stories to go with them) makes this a great collection for variation, and it would be a great book to read in short sittings, reading one poem and its corresponding short story at a time.

I liked this book! Even though it's been a looong time since I've willingly read a short story (thanks required school reading), I found myself engaged in the various stories and wishing that they lasted longer.

I didn't entirely see the theme of being disconnected in every piece, but that may have been in the way I read the poems and stories.

If you are interested in 'meeting' several unique and talented artists you should definitely read this book!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.