Bogi Takács asked me to blurb eir poetry collection, “Algorithmic Shapeshifting,” which is out this month from Aqueduct Press. Here’s what I wrote:
Bogi Takács’s poetry is gleefully and unabashedly itself, pulling the reader through surreal worlds of visceral magic, body modification, political wit, and interpersonal devotion. Whether looking back into Talmudic history, forward into a science fictional psychic war, or sinking into the earth and growing flowers from its own eye sockets, “Algorithmic Shapeshifting” presents a voice that is consistently fresh, startling, and sincere.
When I blurbed “Nantais,” I expanded the blurb into a full review: I had other things to say about the book that didn’t fit into a blurb space and that included some criticisms. With “Algorithmic Shapeshifting,” though, I think my 1-paragraph blurb encapsulates my thoughts perfectly. I have nothing else substantive to add.
Rather than trying to stretch it out into a longer review, I’m just putting up this blurb as a bonus post which doesn’t take a full review’s time slot in my schedule, and indexing it as though it was full-length.
The verdict on “Algorithmic Shapeshifting,” as you might guess, is Recommended-2.