THOU

by Aisha Sasha John

Poetry. African American Studies. Following the successful reception of her first book, THE SHINING MATERIAL, comes Aisha Sasha John's THOU, a powerful collection of three long, narrative poems exploring the social space that exists between the self and others. Using the language that connects these two states of being, THOU investigates the idea of "you"--what it is and what it means to say "you," the stories we make of our own multiple "yous," and by extension, the "you" an author can make of her own book. Building on the emotionally charged language of John's previous work, THOU will tantalize readers' senses, and will provoke comparisons to such acclaimed poets as Anne Carson (especially Glass, Irony and God) and Alice Notley.

Genres: Poetry, Canada

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2014

About the author

Aisha Sasha John is a dance improviser and poet. She was born in Montreal, but spent most of her childhood in Vancouver, and currently lives in Toronto. John has a BA in African Studies and Semiotics from the University of Toronto and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Her first book, The Shining Material, was published by BookThug in 2011.

(from http://elevenelevenjournal.com/issue-...)

Reviews

[Masha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've read in a long time.

[Erin Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

A poem in THOU that truly speaks to the collection as a whole is “I saw the stars” (37). This book is humorous and scatological, and after reading it I am still unsure of how seriously it takes itself. “I saw the stars/ and I came after them/ They are/ many raisins,” seems to me, to be a satirical take on “Instagram poetry.” Much of THOU enacts the “form” of Instagram poetry: the short lines in a short poem, the somewhat misshapen line breaks, the lack of depth and imagery, and the simplicity. However, Aisha Sasha John, does put more interesting and jarring images in her “Instagram poems.” I am not sure if this is a deliberate critique of this new genre of poetry, or if it is simply that her shorter poems are merely a small step up from the frivolous and unfeeling poems that plague our Instagram feeds. I found that many poems in this large collection read like first drafts, or IDEAS for poems, rather than the final result of editing and workshopping. So many of the poems rely heavily on abstract nouns and vague concepts instead of reveling in the uncanniness of language that it is difficult to read. I did enjoy the ribald and scatological/bawdy moments in many of the poems, though this may purely have been because they amused me, (“I shat thrice” (15)) and were often unexpected. I do wonder if the jarring moments regarding shitting and puking and masturbating are in the book to challenge readers’ ideas of poetry, appropriateness etc, or if they are simply there to get the readers’ attention and gloss over moments of failure in the book. Some of the poems really struck me, like “Forcing a blush out of them,” (43) and “somebody asked me about you,” (121), but these poems reinforce, for me, the ways in which the collection feels too big and incomplete. The collection could be edited down to about half the size and still need further editing. It reads in many places (like some of the poems about Morocco), like a travel journal with randomly assigned line breaks. Desipite the shortcomings of the collection, I was able to enjoy bit of it, however I completely lost patience with it each time internet memes were referenced: “Can I haz/ cream sauce,” (49). It is strange to me that specific internet memes are referenced repeatedly with no commentary, as though to simply grab a reader’s attention and not actually engage with them. The inclusion of memes COULD be effective, were their use built into the structure of the book, but here they were not. The book aims to address “I vs. You” but I found myself grasping to find that framework in the poems themselves and really struggled to like this book. It seems like a rush project that an editor asked for after a successful first book. What is valid about this book in the wider context of contemporary poetry? I don’t mean to be dismissive of ‘instgram poets,’ because they serve a purpose for some, but is it better to make poetry vapid and entertaining and have more people read and share it, or to hone it as the craft it is and perhaps have less readers? What exactly is Aisha Sasha John trying to do in this collection?

[Sami Al-Khalili · Rating 3 out of 5]

The very impressionable, bawdy scenes of Aisha Sasha John's work left me hacking sometimes, laughing at others, and generally dissatisfied with the writing. At first, I thought I tasted some Bukowski, but it isn't bitter enough, nor as real, and yet, I, dumbfounded at the mundanity of most of the poetry, continued on hoping for more. I was wrong.

If it weren't for the personal sensitivities and illustrations of trauma funneled through a caption of bite-size poems, I'd drop the book, but there some depth, you just don't need a life support to submerge back up to the surface. What I mean by this is that it's okay. She's okay.

[dimwig · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was physical. it was dizzy. it was uncanny how similar her experience of morocco was to rachel's (& maybe a bit to mine). it was funny. it was like belching for three years when somebody asks you what you're going to do with your life. it was poetry because who doesn't like poetry.

[Jared Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also,
I am sorry that I hate you because you hate me

because I hurt you because you hurt me because you are human in a
way that
disturbs me to the extent you strategize differently

than I do for a similar lack.

[Shams · Rating 2 out of 5]

weirdest poetry I've ever read. I feel like I wasted my time reading it; I didn't understand what she was talking about 99% of the time

[ainsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

4.00.

Read for ENGL 336.01.

[Sophie Crocker · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the best poets :)