Thank you to NetGalley for the copy to review. A fantastic collection that was enjoyable to read. I had to keep putting it down to process but that did not affect my level of enjoyment at all.

Day 23 of #TheSealeyChallenge 2023. Fixer by Edgar Kunz published by Ecco.

@SealeyChallenge @eccobooks @edgarjameskunz @lockthecashbox

#thesealeychallenge2023 #sealeychallenge #poetry

Contemplative and emotional poems that display honesty and heart.

Some of my favorite moments:

I bought boxes of clementines and ate them like a possum on the train.

In the window next door, my fig presses its leaves to the glass.

I’ll tell you what’s wrong with us, he says, free of charge.

It was like he got smaller overnight, like someone threw water on him.

What a gorgeous collection of poems about everyday connections - making the mundane feel poignant somehow in so few words. I enjoyed every single one as each took me to a place in my life to reflect on a moment I hadn’t thought of in some time. How great is that?

I understand poetry is not meant to resound with everyone and unfortunately, I am one of those people in this instance. I found that I couldn't connect to the poems in this book however this does not take away the fact that Edgar gave a part of himself to this book and It was greatly written, I just couldn't relate to the content which falls 100% on me.

I posted this review on my Goodreads account - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5726131661?book_show_action=false

Kunz intermingles melancholy and romance in this short collection of poetry. It was a quick and enjoyable read! This collection focuses on love, grief, and the mundanity of every day; Kunz takes each and puts it under a microscope to see what they are made of. Poetry fans who are looking for soft and honest writing will enjoy this title.

My favorite poems are: "Account", "Willrobotstakemyjob.com", and "Therapy."

**Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco publishing for the eARC of this collection**

I absolutely adored this collection and loved how everything flowed together so well. Edgar Kunz explores the banality of everyday life, but does it in such a way that I felt myself longing for quiet days with nothing at all to pass the time.

I felt this one to my core, and especially enjoyed the poems that highlighted the togetherness that we feel with someone when we are just living the every day alongside them.

Check this one out if you like cohesive collections that make you appreciate day to day life!

I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

"I set my screen / to black-and-white to make/ the living world more vivid."

Fixer places the mundane activities of life underneath a microscope, chronicling the effects of the author's father's death as well as complaints from fellow tenants all with brief, flickering beauty. Underneath the deceptively simple prose lie greater revelations about grief, family, and class, penned both honestly and tenderly. Despite the tragedy of loss hanging over many of the poems, the collection is ultimately hopeful, as in "Missing It", Kunz begins with the line "It's a new life". Regardless of the pain, there is eventual growth, and brightness in life's less glamorous moments.

"We haul the ladder / to the next window and / try again."

"Fixer" is a short and sweet collection about grief, physical and emotional labor, the weirdness of late-stage capitalism, and what it takes to maintain a lasting love. “Fixer,” the titular poem, is where the collection reaches its emotional height. This piece grapples with the loss of the speaker’s father and the guilt felt after losing someone to addiction. A line from the speaker’s brother encapsulates this idea: “You got the best years of him, / Noah says, considering you're the oldest. / Luke says He got a lot worse / after you left...”

It is a quick moment with straightforward clarity — much like most of the language in this collection. I think "Fixer' is a great choice for those new to poetry. It is accessible, not simple.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ecco for the digital ARC.

In honor of #nationalpoetrymonth I’m trying to read some extra poetry. #Fixer by #EdgarKunz is what I read today. His style is what I’d call #autobiographical. Some would say, isn’t all poetry? But no, often the autobiographical is more subtle, or given to more lyrical style. This makes this poetry not exactly what I normally enjoy but close to it. It’s more matter of fact than plaintive or wistful. I don’t sense much nostalgia or pain but I enjoyed hearing these experiences and did especially enjoy #GoldenGate.
I also appreciated that the publisher @eccobooks gave a head’s up indicating that poetry e-books might break at places the poet didn’t intend which can cause the poem to lose its structure and hence it’s meaning or punch. There was a little of that also (in my opinion) but when reading poetry this often occurs - my sophomoric need to reread the lines or stanzas so that the finished thought can bring itself to a period in my mind. This book deals heavily on the fact of his father’s death. Several poems speak of his father and his death, some bleak things told very plainly but still in a way that packs a punch.
Many thanks to the publisher and to @netgalley for providing this collection in return for a honest review. Coming in August 2023.
#poetry #poemsofinstagram #eccobooks #poetrymonth

Absolutely loved this collection!
It’s about loss, addiction, personal mistakes (being human) and coming to terms with who you are. Edgar Kunz is brutally honest and it feels like no word is wasted.

I would love to have a hard copy of this book, so that I could annotate it!

This is a very well written thought provoking book. I highly recommend it to poetry aficionados and all readers alike. I don't do spoilers and I say again 5 Stars all the way to my "favorites " pile. Lol. Enjoy it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the e-ARC

Usually CIS white male poetry doesn’t connect with me… however this somewhat gritty collection had me rapt, I read and reread this #BiteSizedBook over and over. Maybe it’s just the themes that hit home for me. I lost my brother to addiction and Kunz’s poems on the loss of his father and what it was like to enter the place his father passed away made me feel connected to the author. A shared experience that was visceral and sad without the melancholy or glorification of the dead that sometimes follows.

This is a collection about loss, and personal mistakes, and reconciling one’s self, and watching someone fall into then be consumed by addiction. It is a subtle love letter to San Francisco and to starting over. This is not a collection about the beauty of language or the tricks and twists that English can produce. It is straightforward and brutally honest. Kunz plays with the function of meaning that comes from streams of well chosen words.

I do wish I had a hard copy so I could see the form of these poems, the digital is constrained in ways that limits that part of the delivery. However, the power of each poem was in itself enough to make me fall in love. This is a book I will add to my own collection when it is released on August 22, 2023.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishing house for allowing me to read this delightful e-arc of poems.
This is a new author for me I've never heard of him but I will be looking out for more of his works in the future. Allow some of the poems were sad I still had an amazing time reading this. The author has a wonderful way of writing his poetry.

This was fine! The titular poem is really well done, but as a total collection it feels thematically lackluster. The poems were well crafted but not incredibly dense or provocative.

As someone who is just recently venturing into more modern poetry, this was a nice surprise. The unique look into the stark reality of modern day work was fascinating.

Very well written poems that provoke deep thoughts and emotions. Loved the first few poems the most.

Oh. Pretty good, actually. Yes, that is said with the element of surprise. I’m not much of a modern poetry fan, so this is a rather uniquely entertaining one off.
If this was a short story collection, I’d refer to it as a slice of life. A bunch of blue-collar vignettes: crappy jobs, apartment living, etc. So this was a poetic equivalent of that without the usual pretention of poetic renderings.
Not a rhyme in sight, but the author has a particular rhythm he makes work for him, and his poems have a pleasant simplicity as they bring to life everyday scenes of…well, life.
Overall, a decent read. A very quick one too. Thanks Netgalley.

This was a beautiful and gripping poetry collection; I was sad when it was over! There were some really impactful lines about grief and love and sustaining oneself in this world.

I was able to “get” these poems, they weren’t so wordy like others! Very well done. His travels, his work, lots of various scenarios.

I am so thankful to both Ecco, Netgalley, and Edgar Kunz for granting me Advanced Access to this gorgeous and honest collection of poetry before it's set to publish on August 22, 2023.

Written and versed similar to that of rap music, the prose in Fixer hits deep and hard into the various social issues plaguing our country at this point in time. I felt very moved by this piece and look forward to reading more content from this author, going forward.