i would read this again and again… and i did just that. these poems are beautiful, deep, emotional, ethereal, and out of body. i will not only purchase it i will purchase multiple copies and give them out to all the people i love in my life. a must read for anyone trying to make sense of themselves, life, and the in between.

Escaping the Body: Poems was the first collection by Chloe N. Clark I’ve read, and it will definitely not be the last. Her writing is gorgeous and evocative.

It’s true that a lot of the poems in this collection do come back to the theme of escape and escaping the body, but I also found it interesting how many of the poems dwell continuously on and circle back to the body, showing the body as a place which can’t be escaped even as it changes and decays to bones. Even in the poems where escape from circumstances, temporarily cheating death, or transcending the body are possible, you can’t fully escape yourself. Reading this collection definitely made me think more about what it means to exist in a body, about what it means to exist as a sentient being, and the unease which we thinking creatures feel when we think about ourselves as vulnerable bodies.

I also loved the variety of poems in this collection which range from surreal, to mythical, to sci-fi, to horror, to science, to homages to Houdini. Many of the poems are multi-genre or genre-blurring. I did go into this collection expecting every poem to be more horror-oriented (because it came up under horror on my search results), and if you’re only interested in horror and horror-adjacent poetry, you may not like all the poems in this collection.

In addition to variety in genre, this collection also varies significantly in form and tone from more prose poems which tell a narrative to very threadbare poems which focus on a specific moment or feeling. It takes a lot of confidence and talent to play so effortlessly with form and style.

Overall, this is one of the best single-author poetry collections I’ve read.

My Favorite poems were: “Questions We Asked for the Girls Turned to Limbs,” “Missing Girl Found–,” “I was Planning on Learning to Breathe Today,” “What the Earth Returns to Our Mouths,” “Osteomancy,” “Lacunae,” “Grow Your Own Little Forest,” and “Ends and Ends” (which is an excellent concluding piece).

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

This isn't Chloe N. Clark's first poetry collection, but this is my first time experiencing her words. With this, I learned three things: first, Clark knows how to title her works. I was just nodding my head with a stupid smile on my face as I scrolled through the contents. Second, it's quite a long collection which makes some concepts slightly repetitive. Because the collection spans through five parts, it cannot go unnoticed that some parts just stand out among others, in terms of both idea and execution. Then again, this happens almost every time. Third and last, the language used is very accessible indeed. It's more narrative than descriptive, but I think it's something that can consequently be enjoyed by avid poetry fans, considering Clark's talent in word-weaving. That being said, this is the type of poetry collection I would recommend especially to those who want to get into poetry but do not know where to start.

Thank you, NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press, for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this collection absolutely beautiful. Clark is a master of the written word and utilizing it toe vote emotion and recollection. I think this book would be an enhancer for any library's collection and any poetry-lovers repertoire.

I adored this. What a stunning collection - I typically bookmark my favorite poems, but quickly found myself bookmarking way too many! To name a few, I especially loved Apocalypse Scenario, A Reward for You and The Ones I Don't Think You Need, Ends and Ends, You'd Be Home Now and We Imagined Their Fossils to be Thunderbolts, Absolutely gorgeous and gut-wrenching.

Escaping the Body is the 2nd poetry collection ARC I read this month and, while it does have its touching moments, it really pales in comparison. Nothing against this collection and it's not fair to compare it to The Surrender Theory which turned out to be one of my favorite collections ever, but the more I read, the more disconnected I felt with this author and the more I was unable to relate and understand the written word.

I feel like there are some really interesting concepts here and I liked the incorporation of science and also magic into the metaphors but, a lot of the times, because there wasn't really a coherent enough theme or context for me to cling to, I found myself drifting and unable to get what the poem was saying. Oftentimes, I was missing the "poetry" of it all and reading it more text-like than rhythmic because I just couldn't feel it like that. Overall, there is some talent here obviously and there are really nice ways of depicting emotions that make this a worthwhile book to read, especially for fans of poetry, but ... it didn't really stand out for me.

This collection is simple, vulnerable, beautiful. The poet blends mythology and natural imagery, space and magic, history and personality and honesty to dig deep into the spaces between our ribs and the silences between our words.

Clark has a true gift for poetic lyricism and does not shy away from experimentation. She pushes you to the edges of your comfort zone, inviting you the step out of your skin and exploring the world beyond your limitations. She sees beauty in so much, and has such a somber, sobering perspective on the world and the people within it.

I did find that the collection lulled a bit toward the middle. The strongest pieces definitely bookend this one - so you get a strong start and a big finish. But the magic of this book and the poems within it is its ability to stay with you. You'll want a pencil on hand to highlight those poignant lines. I can absolutely see this book being the well-loved paperback accompanying people on their own journeys.

Genuinely enjoyed his one, and will definitely be recommending it! It's a great stepping stone into horror-adjacent poetry for those curious about the genre but not sure where to start.

“In stories from centuries ago,
our skin was cursed,
befouled by Gods or just because
in these stories, we cursed our bodies
and the weight of or skin
as it changed us, shaped us, made us.” (All Melusine’s Daughters)

Chloe N Clark’s Escaping the Body is a haunting collection of poems that entangles myth and science, body and soul. The poems read like dreamlike flashes exploring themes of loss, pain, femininity, life, and death.

Clark’s use of motifs relating to myths, the natural world, illusions, and space in many of the poems, especially when talking about femininity and the female experience really resonated with me. Each poem had some aspect that felt relatable to me in some way, even if only vaguely and maybe not even in the way Clark intended. The horror this collection brings comes from the melancholy ache you feel while reading these poems. The poems are lyrically written, but never feel too self-indulgent. Even myself as someone new to reading poetry was able to enjoy the beautiful riddles and metaphors in the writing while still connecting to meaning and being able to take something away from each poem.

It's rare that I find a collection of poetry that reads so very smoothly. Through nature and myth and magic tricks, through the body and beyond it, this collection remains thematically consistent without exhausting its subject matter. It is an empathetic, thoughtful, and clever reflection on the human condition and I found it genuinely gorgeous throughout. Clark's poetic voice, while contemporary, has a classic feel to it and I can easily see myself recommending this collection to a broad range of readers. This was my first foray into her work, but will definitely not be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for providing this digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Escaping the Body is a collection of intricate and unique poems revolving around the body, love and heartbreak.

I really enjoyed the almost biological and scientific aspect of the poems that mixed with the more lyrical and emotive language. I thought it was a great contrast and I’ve never seen it done before. The poems are real and each has deep meaning. I will say some were quite difficult to wrap my head around and I had to reread a few!

Some of my favourite lines that I think really capture the essence of the poems are

‘You left yourself in pieces around my apartment- the indent of your body in my bed, the finger prints on the shower glass.’

My favourite poem was ‘Once They Sainted a Mermaid’ which described in beautiful and lyrical words the sea and womanhood.

Overall, this is a great collection of poetry and I really enjoyed reading it!

Clark's poems deal with themes of missing women, body parts, magicians, corpses, space, space (the other kind), dreams, questions, mothers, and an endless spiral of domestic wondering (what is the lover thinking, etc.). The last few works in the volume, especially those dealing with scientific subjects, are the most powerful. The ones about relationships fell flat. In general, this volume felt lackluster and wanting in the kind of specific detail that makes poetry shine.


ARC

i really liked this poetry collection! the poems felt very personal, i enjoyed how beautifully they were written and the imagery allowed me to create my own meanings for them :')

This book SPEAKS TO MY SOUL

I don’t usually pick up poetry voluntarily, but bookstagram made me do it.

And I👏🏻have👏🏻been👏🏻missingouuuut👏🏻

Lately, I’ve found that prose feels just surface-level and doesn’t get to the core of whatever the author is trying to say. I want them to dig deeper and make me feeeeel.

And boy, this book will punch you in the gut. The author is an artist and doesn’t waste words. Her writing is romantic, real, and dark-and-twisty and I want her to be my Cristina Yang because she gets me 🙌🏼

Such a well thought collection about the body, our flesh, our lived experiences on our vessels. Some of the themes the author explores and I loved were: the body and the functionality of it, magic, water, sexuality, fear, history, daily/mundane life and mythology. Stunning collection! Thank you for the ARC.

This was probably the strongest poetry collection I've received an ARC for yet! Some of these poems actually made me gasp I felt so connected to them. Like any collection there are some flops but I don't think any of these ruined the entire thing for me. Overall, a really strong collection and I would definitely check out more from this author!

I'm not really used to poetry books. If I'm honest I never felt like I was emotionally smart enough to get them - which may or may not be true. This book was a big step in making me realize that poetry is about much more than just understand the meaning behind every verse - it's about the feelings you're left with after reading them, whether they make perfect sense to you or not.

The imagery in this is stunning and the way Chloe N. Clark paints with words makes this a truly interesting and inspiring experience. Her verses make you feel like the body is something bigger, the bigger somethings are the body and all of the above are feelings.

However, there were some clear ups and downs in my experience with this collection - in some moments I was thoroughly immersed by every poem, in others they just started to feel a little flat - and maybe a bit repetitive. As it always is with poetry, though, I am sure that the ones I found less interesting will be someone's favorites out of this book.

As I said before, in the end it is all about how each poem makes you feel - and Escaping the Body is absolutely bound to make you feel a lot.

Absolutely loved the elegant way in which so much grief and scary thoughts about life and death were presented.

Short and powerful poems about relatable fears and human pains told in such a beautiful way integrating many interesting metaphors and comparisons.

Definitely would recommend this to anyone looking for some short horror thoughts and reflections about the dark sides of being alive.

This was my first read by author Chloe N. Clark, I was curious to see how this collection of poetry felt.

The way in which the body is depicted in these pages is quite unexpected. There is a variety of perspective were some are quite visceral and others very blatant in their message. A few of these felt disturbing, enlightening and moving.

The author succeeds in allowing the reader to interpret this poetry in a way which will either comfort or disturb them. I found many quotes which I was drawn to and repetitively read them.

Overall this collection includes some dark and uplifting poetry which I enjoyed experiencing and would recommend checking out.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this poetry collection in exchange for an honest review!
This collection had a few really great poems mixed in with a bunch of just okay ones. This one just unfortunately could not keep my attention, no matter how much I wanted to like it. It took me much longer than usual to get through. The good moments were GREAT. But the rest just didn't work for me.

An account of the body, explored through surrealism, hauntings, magic and nature. It explores the body in relationships, in trauma, in remembrance. Memories and dreams form an integral tool in the existence of the physical body. It traces histories of the body and all the places it has and does exist.
The poet explores gendered violence, toxic relationships and the ecology of balance through commonplace objects and routines.

I was expecting more dark and horror elements, but I was still hooked! The book is divided in sections and first section was probably my favourite.