Member Reviews
I knew Desiree’s work from the slam poetry world, and was so excited to read this. She puts into words some of the most intense things a person can experience and really made me feel deeply. The courage it must have taken to write this collection is astounding.
I’m not a fan of this, I’ve tried to get into it multiple times now but it’s just genuinely not for me. I hoped it would’ve been better but alas.
i'm so sad, i really was hoping i was going to love this book, but i couldn't. i didn't enjoy it, i know the author is doing a reallly hard work talking about those personal topics, but i can't help it, i did not feel the book was good..
A very story telling -poetry types. Not my ideal poetry kind but enjoyed the story nevertheless. I wish the writing was a bit more deep but overall it was a fine experience reading it.
Let me just say that the cover is what initially drew me into this book. Great plot and I look forward to reading more by this author.
"Sink" is a volume that washed over me in an evening, echoing in me the transformation of broken bottles along the coast to beautiful, if not raw, sea glass. Dallagiacomo has created a collection that had me vanish into it, only to be returned to myself at the very end. I am not the same person having read it, but I am without a doubt a better person, more sensitive, more open to emotion.
I am impressed by the way the poet has portrayed her universe and made it come alive with risky poetic forms. In spite of this, I was immersed in the violence of the language that portrayed vulnerability in a new and unique light. With her spectral personification of trauma and the variety of ways it can take shape, "Sink" has become one of those books I'll take wherever I go, no matter how much luggage I'm allowed (or not). Without a doubt, this poet is one to watch; there is no one writing quite like her today.
eBook provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Actual rating: 4.5 stars.
I love every single Button Poetry book I've read on my own, so I was excited to pick this up on Netgalley despite not previously knowing much about Desireé Dallagiacomo -- and I'm so happy I did. This book is beautiful, gut-wrenching, and I devoured it in one sitting just to start it over again to see what else I could glean from its pages.
Sink is a collection of poetry primarily about Dallagiacomo's childhood, relationships with each other parents, and her experiences with sexual assault and rape. I found myself relating to a lot of pieces -- albeit not as many as I tend to in most Button Poetry publications, which is the reason for the four point five star rating -- but even the pieces I couldn't relate to were still well-done.
Very personal, very powerful. Dallagiacomo has talent - her words pull you in and make you feel like you're part of each moment.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is now one of my favorite books of poetry. So heartfelt. I could literally feel it in my bones. A very talented lady.
One of the most moving books of poetry I've read in a very, very long time. Poems range on subjects from drug abuse, absent parents, grief, fatphobia, and misogyny. Although my life experiences have been completely different to Dallagiacomo's, every poem spoke to me on a personal level. The poems about her late Aunt Diana will stay with me for a very long time. Absolutely incredible collection.
Images from this are still rippling in my mind. The poet knows how to use words effectively, with metaphors working on evocative ways.
I would recommend Sink for those seeking a talented new poetic voice.
This is an incredible book of poetry.
Desireé Dallagiacomo is a poet with plenty to say and she says it with passion and with not self-control.
This isn’t parlour room poetry to pontificate and please. This lines and verses are raw, emotion laid bare and complacency undermined.
Nothing here to just lift the spirit, as to listen is to be moved. To hear is to be disturbed. To read is to have all your senses assailed as by a lexicon of besieging soldiers. A vocabulary of invading force.
Poems has a metre but Sink rips that up with an outpouring of concepts and memories, hopes and fears, bruised bodies and broken spirit. Poetry however still formulates a pattern, a series of waves. A variation of pitch and length that initially not everyone can hear or understand on first encounter.
Never just read a poem once. This book will be a treasure possession in anyone’s collection. Those who like intensive and sushi emotive verse. One day a book like Sink will overrun our coastal defences of conservatism like a tsunami.
“I cannot remember his laugh though I thought I would by now. His face and folds into each year. I do not know any of his scars”.
“I do not know what children with fathers dream about, what they long for if not for someone with their same face to tuck them in at night.”
“My mother scratches at her skin so viciously she is a field of ripened sores.”
“My thighs are always the elephant in the dressing room.”
“nobody wants to develop my negatives in their darkroom”.
My favourite poem on first reading was:
Your Doctor Says Dementia.
A mind-blowing, opinion changing piece. When browsing and picking up this book, turn to this one.
For example “They’ve lifted the lid off of you and found your memory is evaporating rain, ....”
One to look out for. Buy or borrow. Read and read again.
This book was really hard for me to get through. It was incredibly raw and vulnerable and it had a LOT to say.
This was an interesting collection of poems. Digging deep into some painful emotions. The reason I've given it a 3/5 is simply because, like a lot of poetry books, there were some poems that I loved and pulled me in, while others didn't have the same impact.
Personally I needed to read something like this. This book is beautiful and conversational in style. Loved the writing and the ideas it communicates.
I was sent this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Every time I think of Desireé Dallagiacomo, the first thing that comes to mind is her performance of "Thighs" on Button Poetry. That's the poem that first made me a fan. Sink has that gem, but it also shows you another side of the poet. Here, you learn about what it's like to see your brother go to jail, to grow up fatherless, to live with someone you don't love and to share moments more intimate than sex with someone that you do.
There's a poem that she wrote in the style of "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" by Wallace Stevens that absolutely destroyed me. You'll know it when you see it. Brace yourself for that one.
Sink is one of my favorite Button books yet. It is the poetry in surviving as a woman, in the pain of a broken family, and in grieving, a universal language.
One thing is certain about this collection: I do not and will never know the sheer amount of strength it took for the author to bleed over each word, as though every sentence, every line is a testament of her will to fight and also embrace her growth.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.
An honest and raw collection of poetry that dives into the complexities of the female experience in the modern world. Poverty, grief, and healing are a Slam Poet’s bread and butter but the themes are rarely covered in such intimate depth and creativity. The structure is particularly enjoyable, whereas most poetry collections of this genre are bland and uninventive; I was pleasantly surprised by the poet's creativity and mirth when tackling sensitive subjects.
I just wanted more than I got.
Sink is a beautiful and heartrending revelation of the pain of Desiree's journey from childhood to adulthood. This is a powerful testimony to her strength and will to survive.