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Fail Better
beyza ozer's work has appeared in or is forthcoming from the Offing, Shabby Doll House, Columbia Poetry Review, and others. beyza is the author of I Don't Mean to Redshift. They are deputy director of social media at YesYes Books. beyza lives in Chicago and, besides working at W&CF, also attends Columbia College and interns at the Poetry Foundation.
The first time i read beyza's poetry, we were in a high school photography class & they were doing my homework for me while i edited work that was truly, truly above my 17 year old head. i'm telling you right now, they were amazing then & now they are writing poems that can kill you if you aren't careful. this book is my favorite book until they write their next one.
- Isabelle Davis, author of I Am Sorry Because This Is Not About Sex
Reading FAIL BETTER felt like being stuck in a thick, opaque, nearly solid embodiment of translation, flailing my arms but moving at 1/1000th the speed that my arms would normally flail. I thought beyza, beyza, beyza, after every page, and as I finished the book my body seeped out of the cloud and rested on the floor.
- Sarah Jean Alexander, author of Wildlives
beyza's words are so deft and tender that you won't notice them changing you until it's already happened. FAIL BETTER is waiting patiently to become a part of you.
- Kimmy Walters, author of Uptalk and Killer
"Beyza Ozer's FAIL BETTER is a book full of poems that understand that being sad and being alive is another way to tell a stranger that we don't have to be alone if we don't want to be. Beyza Ozer's FAIL BETTER is here for you, and it always will be. How many things in this world can we really truly say that about?"
- Sasha Fletcher, author of It Is Going To Be A Good Year
The first time i read beyza's poetry, we were in a high school photography class & they were doing my homework for me while i edited work that was truly, truly above my 17 year old head. i'm telling you right now, they were amazing then & now they are writing poems that can kill you if you aren't careful. this book is my favorite book until they write their next one.
- Isabelle Davis, author of I Am Sorry Because This Is Not About Sex
Reading FAIL BETTER felt like being stuck in a thick, opaque, nearly solid embodiment of translation, flailing my arms but moving at 1/1000th the speed that my arms would normally flail. I thought beyza, beyza, beyza, after every page, and as I finished the book my body seeped out of the cloud and rested on the floor.
- Sarah Jean Alexander, author of Wildlives
beyza's words are so deft and tender that you won't notice them changing you until it's already happened. FAIL BETTER is waiting patiently to become a part of you.
- Kimmy Walters, author of Uptalk and Killer
"Beyza Ozer's FAIL BETTER is a book full of poems that understand that being sad and being alive is another way to tell a stranger that we don't have to be alone if we don't want to be. Beyza Ozer's FAIL BETTER is here for you, and it always will be. How many things in this world can we really truly say that about?"
- Sasha Fletcher, author of It Is Going To Be A Good Year
54 pages, Paperback
First published January 20, 2017
58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 22, 2018
This is a lovely book of poetry that I think many of my friends would like, too. It requires a lot of content warnings, so if you would like that, ask me and & I can try & help. One of the reasons I liked this book so much is because the author comes from a Muslim background & also is writing a lot about Chicago & also clearly loves their friends so much, so I relate. Also, there aren't page numbers, just phases of the moon.
February 14, 2017
we are here in chicago and you are kissing me on
a mountain of hard snow, mostly ice,
& there is a dead rabbit hanging off the
edge of our mountain. i look for the right
stick to push it off into lake michigan
so it can have a softer place to rest.
a mountain of hard snow, mostly ice,
& there is a dead rabbit hanging off the
edge of our mountain. i look for the right
stick to push it off into lake michigan
so it can have a softer place to rest.
April 22, 2021
There are some truly incredible poems in Fail Better. My favorites:
I STILL HAVE VERY OLD HANDS & HERE IS THAT LETTER I PROMISED
(favorite snippet below)
don't get me wrong, i am a sad person but there is a
difference between being sad & being alive & before, i didn't feel
alive. i have come so far & cried in so many buses to get to you.
here is an idea: you stay here with me for as long as you want
& we go to the beach when it isn't so cold that your toes turn
purple. we listen to a wave & the shore meet for the first time.
here is the truth: you make me feel so 1999 & yes, that was the
year i tried on my dad's clothes & everything hiding inside my
skin felt like it was moving again.
I WAS ALWAYS TOO FAT & SCARED TO TRY TO CARTWHEEL
PARTING THE SEA BETWEEN BRIGHTNESS & ME
I STILL HAVE VERY OLD HANDS & HERE IS THAT LETTER I PROMISED
(favorite snippet below)
don't get me wrong, i am a sad person but there is a
difference between being sad & being alive & before, i didn't feel
alive. i have come so far & cried in so many buses to get to you.
here is an idea: you stay here with me for as long as you want
& we go to the beach when it isn't so cold that your toes turn
purple. we listen to a wave & the shore meet for the first time.
here is the truth: you make me feel so 1999 & yes, that was the
year i tried on my dad's clothes & everything hiding inside my
skin felt like it was moving again.
I WAS ALWAYS TOO FAT & SCARED TO TRY TO CARTWHEEL
PARTING THE SEA BETWEEN BRIGHTNESS & ME
April 22, 2017
embracing the bitter sweetness of being sad and alive.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews