Let's Not Live on Earth

by Sarah Blake

Sarah Blake follows up her previous book of poetry, Mr. West, with a stunning second collection about anxieties and injury. Blake uses self-consciousness as a tool for transformation, looking so closely at herself that she moves right through the looking glass and into the larger world. Fear becomes palpable through the classification of monsters and through violences made real. When the poems find themselves in the domestic realm, something is always under threat. The body is never safe, nor are the ghosts of the dead. But these poems are not about cowering. By detailing the dangers we face as humans, as Americans, and especially as women, these poems suggest we might find a way through them. The final section of the book is a feminist, science fiction epic poem, "The Starship," which explores the interplay of perception and experience as it follows the story of a woman who must constantly ask herself what she wants as her world shifts around her.

Hardcover is un-jacketed.

Genres: Poetry

128 pages, Hardcover

First published December 5, 2017

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name.

Reviews

[Carla Sofia Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent poems throughout. The final long-form piece, "The Starship," was extraordinary, had me completely hooked. This is my first time reading Blake's poems and I am stunned by how inventive and dazzling her work is. Excited to read more!

[Andrea Blythe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up because it includes, "The Starship," a chapbook length poem in which a woman is faced with a looming starship and the opportunity to leave the world behind. This poem stunned me with its strength, compassion, and humanity — and the rest of the poems in this collection manage the same, detailing the detailing the dangers we face as humans on Earth and revealing pathways through them. My interview with the poet, Sarah Blake is here.

[Diana Iozzia · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Let’s Not Live On Earth”
Written by Sarah Blake

Sarah Blake’s poetry is intriguing. I was particularly intrigued by the cover of her book. Sarah’s poetry is very feministic, full of women empowering poetry and positivity. This is not usually the poetry that I pick up, but I was curious to see what this would be like.

I like it. I do, but because liking a book on Goodreads equals to 3 stars, I feel strange giving these poems 3 stars out of five. I hope you read my review and consider a 3.5 review, because I’m definitely somewhere in the middle.

Sarah’s poetry is in no way my style, but I definitely find it interesting. It can be sad, but it’s very serious poetry, with about half of it being in prose. She mentions important topics like gun violence, domestic abuse, anxiety, and early motherhood. There’s a poem about a gynecological check up that made me lose my appetite, but it’s important because she spoke about sexual health and awareness, which is a really interesting topic to me.

Her poetry’s style is a little distracting, but I think it adds to the vibe of the poetry. It reminds me of spoken word, a beatnik poetry night, but this isn’t a bad thing. Romantic poetry is meant to be melodic. This kind of poetry is supposed to make you feel a little on edge and uncomfortable. I think a few of the poems are a little too full of shock factor, but I admire her willingness to write about what feels honest to her. I also really enjoyed her novella, "Star Ship".


*I thank Sarah Blake and her publisher for sending a complementary copy of the book to me for reviewing purposes”.

[Ross Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. like most collections, this has an uneven mix of poems, though i’d say these range more than some others—some of them aren’t that good, and some are exceptional. it gets off to a weak start, but becomes engaging about 1/3 of the way through, so i’d give it at least that much of a chance. or just read “the starship,” which comprises the bulk of the book; that long, narrative poem is both hopeful and straightforward, and oddly tender for a weird little sci-fi romp. overall, though, i’d say this is a successful collection, if only because “the starship” makes me want to look over the poems in the beginning to see if i was missing a broader thematic or formal connection.

[Gwendolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my wishes for 2018 is to read more poetry, and to help with that, I asked for (and received) as a holiday present a year-long subscription to the Rumpus Poetry Book Club, which sends me a new poetry book once a month. Let’s Not Live on Earth was the first selection I received, and I really enjoyed it. There’s a lot in this collection about the conflicting emotions of motherhood as well as about loss and death. The last 1/3 to ½ of the book is a longer poem about escaping (literally) to another world as Earth dies, and I loved this poem’s examination of how and why we form relationships (hint: sometimes it’s as random as the other person just happens to be your neighbor living through the same hell as you). I put stars next to 3-4 poems in this collection, and that’s a pretty good sign for me that I’ll open this collection again in the future to reread my particular favorites.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really uneven collection for me, but when it's good, it's so, so good. Content warnings for the grim realities of living as a woman in a misogynistic nightmareworld, violence (sexual and otherwise), suicide, etc. The second half of the book is a longer poem about a spaceship coming to earth and what comes of that. It felt quite unique and made me think about several things from a different angle.

Some quotes that stuck out to me:

"But I'm telling you,
there's more than one monster here

with you now. Against you.
You've considered this, too, haven't you?

You know there's nothing you can do."


"Everything isn't back to normal.
Just because you can go to stores again
and people aren't crying in the street."
(this hit hard in this constant-state-of-COVID-gaslighting world we're in...)


"once, you find a group of aliens restraining
one alien. And you show them the rooms
that lock from the outside. And they're
grateful to you. Though you're not sure who
should've been locked up."

[Nicole O'Donnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poem “The Starship” pulled me in completely.

[Braeden Udy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible poetry about motherhood, neurosis, violence, and utopia.