[Dis]Connected: Poems & Stories of Connection and Otherwise

by Amanda Lovelace, Amanda Lovelace, Iain S. Thomas

Humanity exists in a hyper connected world, where our closest friends, loves and enemies lie but a keyboard stroke away. Few know this better than the poets who have risen to the top of their trade by sharing their emotion, opinion and art with millions of fans.Combining the poetic forces of some of today’s most popular and confessional poets, this book presents poems and short stories about connection wrapped up in a most unique exercise in creative writing. Follow along as your favorite poets connect with each other; offering their poetry to the next poet who tells a story based on the concept presented to them. With poetry, stories and art, [Dis]Connected is a mixed media presentation of connection, isolation, love and loneliness.

Genres: Poetry, Short Stories, Adult, Nonfiction, Anthologies

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2018

About the author

Amanda Lovelace is a bestselling American poet who rose to fame through her poetry posted to Tumblr and Instagram. She is the author of the women are some kind of magic series, including the Goodreads Choice Award-winning the princess saves herself in this one and women are some kind of magic.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Affiliation
[Dis]Connected is a compilation of beautifully written stories and poems that capture the imagination, as we appreciate the friendships we do or do not have. The premise of the book is to explore, why in an ever-connected world are we seeing isolation and disconnection with so many individuals. We have created a world where the capacity to connect with others is truly awesome but that brings both positive and negative opportunities to interact or feel precluded.

Michelle Halket, very cleverly commissioned this book to illustrate the theme of Connection and Disconnection, from a group of contemporary poets. Michelle challenged these writers by asking each to write three poems, which would be randomly assigned to another group member. The other group member would then write a short story based on one of the poems.

Many of the stories and poems could have existed on their own but the thematic focus on [Dis]Connection urges us to peer deeper into the literary works to identify where those thoughts are illustrated. In many ways, it is an ingenious way of increasing the impact of a story or poem. What we have in this collection of short stories and poems is a diverse range of settings and emotions. From real hardships to fantasy, from post-apocalyptic to supernatural, and from new-beginnings to death.

The structure of the book is a poem followed by a short story for about 85% of the book and the final 15% are the remaining two poems from each poet. For lovers of poetry, short stories and genre variety, you’ll love the beautifully crafted interconnected content of this book.

I would like to thank Michelle Halket, Central Avenue Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC version of the book in return for an honest review.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually thoroughly enjoy great, emotive and inspirational poetry, so I absolutely loved this wonderful anthology including prose by some of the biggest names in the poetry game right now. It's a collection of short stories and poetry whereby a poet is handed a poem written by another contributor and told to write a poem or short story based on said poem, therefore connecting all of the contributions to one another. As always there are some poems that are stronger and more powerful than others, but ultimately if you enjoy any of the poets' previous works you will likely appreciate this collection. The central theme that runs through every one of these pieces is that we are more disconnected than ever before due to our obsession with technology.

This is a great anthology to pick up if you're just getting into reading poetry as it gives you a taster of some of the most popular wordsmith's out there today. There certainly is something here for everyone, and many of the stories/poems are exquisitely written and capture not just your attention but your heart. Powerful, memorable and beautiful - what a fantastic collection!

Many thanks to Central Avenue Publishing for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

[Isabel · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

I was pretty excited about the release of [Dis]Connected when it was first announced. What's not to like about a poetry anthology?

I spoke too soon.

The idea to this anthology is that each author submits three poems that adhere to the overall theme. The poems are assigned randomly to another author who has to write a short story based on one of the poems. For example, Cyrus Parker draws Nikita Gill's name which means he has to write a short story based on one of her poems, then another author draws Parker's name and has to write his story, and so forth.

According to the editor, Michelle Halket, [Dis]Connected centers around the idea of being connected:

We seem to live in a hyper connected world, yet we increasingly hear stories of loneliness, isolation and disconnect.

However, upon reading this anthology I sensed a disconnect between the short stories and the theme.

I enjoyed the overall idea of writing a short story based on a poem and then reading them together. However, I enjoyed the poetry aspect more in comparison to the prose. I think the poems fit the theme better than their counterparts, and I wish the anthology had just focused on the poetry.
The final section to the anthology contains the poems that were not picked and I admit I enjoyed that section even less.

My favorite poems were "The Blessing and The Curse" by Pierre Alex Jeanty; "No Turning Back" by Cyrus Parker; "Impermanence" by Sara Bond; "Astral Travel" by Amanda Lovelace; "Crowded" by Sara Bond.

Here are my individual ratings to the short stories:
Parietal Eye by Nikita Gill - 2 stars
Where the Sea Meets the Sky by Cyrus Parker - 1.5 stars
Terra Firma by Sara Bond - 2 stars
Ultra by Yena Sharma Purmasir - 4 stars
Driving with Strangers by Iain S. Thomas - 3.5 stars
Small Yellow Cottage on the Shore by Amanda Lovelace - 2.5 stars
A Way to Leave by R. H. Swaney - 1 star
The Unholy Wild by Trista Mateer - 2.5 stars
The Train by Liam Ryan - 2.5 stars
The Shooting Squad - 2 stars

I am aware that it's not easy to write a short story (been there, done that) but, overall, what I noted in this collection is the lack of depth regarding every story and the connections in it. The only story that came close was "Ultra" but in every story, there is room for development. I also thought that they didn't quite fit the brief that the editor chose. I didn't get the sense of loneliness or the necessity for a connection, and the stories didn't immerse me into them.
Some stories briefly worked themes of sexual assault and I wish it had been more pronounced and developed.

To conclude, I was extremely excited to read and review this anthology but I was extremely disappointed with what I read. I don't think the poems and the stories adhered to the theme imposed which was a shame.
I am interested in reading more works from the participant authors so that is one of the plus sides in reading this anthology.

[Melanie Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hauptsächlich habe ich mir diese Anthologie zugelegt, weil Amanda Lovelace ihren Part dazu beigetragen hat. Ich liebe ihre Gedichte und der Ansatz der Sammlung klang auch wunderbar!

Leider konnten mich nur wenige Beiträge richtig begeistern. Die beiden Vorworte gehörten dazu und die Geschichten von Amanda Lovelace und Iain S. Thomas. Der Rest war ok, mal besser oder schlechter.

Ich habe dennoch in so gut wie jeder Geschichte und jedem Gedicht mindestens eine Phrase markieren können, die mir gut gefiel!

[Nildene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute and quick read.

I like when collections match an overall theme and aren't divided from each other - here we get a literal alternation, with one author's poem preceding another author's short story and poem, repeating for a total of 10 short stories and 10 poems (though there were bonus poems at the end that were good to read).

There were some short stories and poems that resonated with me more than others, just because they were more interesting to read. I like the selkie story, and the Train short story as well. I didn't pay attention to the author's names specifically though, mostly because I don't focus on those details as much (particularly as with the authors in this collection, I only knew one by name!)

I could see myself rereading the stories and poems I enjoyed, and if i ever had a physical copy, I would probably annotate it with post-it tabs a lot.

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4/5

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This was an ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for granting my wish!

[Trianna/Treereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection from a bunch of popular poets filled with immersive poems and short stories dealing with connection or lack of connection between humans. I was not able to relate/connect to some of the short stories, but yet was able to enjoy the writing. The style of modern poetry translates into very descriptive stories, but at times could lag. The writing of all these poets is gorgeous and was my favorite part of this collection.

"There is a blessing in us being connected, but there is also a curse that can eat us alive" -Pierre Alex Jeanty

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Dis]connected is an anthology of poetry and short stories paired together. Each writer was assigned a poem by another writer, and tasked to write a short story based on that poem.

Overall, this collection was pretty decent. As always with short story collections, there will always be some works you enjoy more than others, but the quality was fairly consistent throughout. It does show, I feel, that some of these writers aren’t really used to writing prose, but short stories are a difficult medium to pull off even if you’re used to writing fiction. I also had the feeling that a lot of the stories, to me, didn’t entirely seem to line up with the poetry prompts. I had a hard time drawing parallels between some of the poems and the story that followed it; there seemed, ironically, to be a disconnect, as if the writers had read the poems and then gone off and written their own story that seemed to bear little relation to the poem that was supposed to have inspired it, other than a quote from the poem or a throwaway scene. There were several stories in particular which stood out to me in this collection, which I’ll briefly discuss here.

Where the Sea Meets the Sky (Cyrus Parker) (sexual assault tw; click 'spoilers' for details)

I didn’t know how to take this story at all. It’s about a couple who meet, fall in love and have a great relationship, which falls apart for reasons that our main character – Lee – can’t understand. His girlfriend Annabel is acting strange and distant, and spending a lot of time with her friends. These friends later turn out to be part of a cult who have been attacking and brutally murdering rapists, and Lee is next on their list. Annabel claims that after speaking with her friends, she has come to the conclusion that Lee sexually assaulted her the day they met, and has decided to kill him.

I found this story really confusing, because I couldn’t decide exactly what we were supposed to take from it. There is an alleged assault which happens off-page, which means that as a reader, we have no idea whether it has actually taken place or not. I assumed that we were supposed to take Lee’s side, assuming that Annabel’s friends had blown it out of proportion in her mind. However, this would have been in very poor taste given the current conversations that are being had about believing abuse survivors – especially given that a number of the contributing authors of this book have been sexually assaulted in the past.

Alternatively, perhaps I misread it, and it was supposed to be a commentary on Lee’s total lack of awareness that he has done anything wrong.

I think this is a subject that requires extremely sensitive handling and something about it made me very uneasy. I’m sure the author’s intentions were good, but I found that the ambiguity of it was highly uncomfortable and I wasn’t sure what to make of it at all. This was also one of the stories which, to me, seemed to bear little relation to the poem it was paired with; Cyrus even mentions in an afterword that this work draws as much, if not more, inspiration from the poem ‘Annabel Lee’ than from the poem he was given to work with. However, this obviously is something that’s down to personal interpretation.

Small Yellow Cottage on the Shore (Amanda Lovelace)

Amanda Lovelace has long been associated with fairytales, and she continues that legacy in this story. It’s a sweet, mystical tale about selkies and witches and magic. Both the setting and description are fantastic, giving a really cosy vibe throughout. The story itself was sweet enough, if a little cheesy in places, but I think Amanda’s attention to detail made it a great self-indulgent pleasure read.

Driving with Strangers (Iain S Thomas)

This story stood apart from all the others because it was one of the few tales in this collection that wasn’t about love. It’s about a girl who hitches a lift from a mysterious stranger, which is all I’ll say about it. I feel that it was one of the most well-written stories in the book and also the one which felt the most like a short story, if that makes sense. I could see this story in a literary magazine or short story competition, which wasn’t a sense I really got from most of the others. It definitely had echoes of flash fiction, with its unanswered questions and mysterious airs, so I thought this was a great addition to the collection.

Ultra (Yena Sharma Purmasir)

This was a strange but emotional story about a woman whose mother had a strange paranoia about photographs. Perhaps taking to heart the old adage about cameras capturing your soul, the woman’s mother never allowed her to be photographed – and when our main character loses the scan photo of her unborn baby, she fears this will cause her to have a miscarriage.

This was one of the strongest stories in the collection, in my opinion. It was well-written, compelling and emotive, and although as a reader we know that the main character’s superstition is unfounded, the stakes are still high. I think this was a really great story and it definitely stood apart from the others.

Overall, I thought that [Dis]connected was a really great idea for a short story anthology. It does a great job of incorporating some lesser-known poets alongside big names, and I definitely have an interest in checking out the works of some of these smaller writers soon. Although I didn’t personally love the book, it did have its high points and I found it an interesting read.

[Sara Jovanovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice and quick read, especially if you enjoy poetry and short stories. I like the idea of the project. All of the authors wrote three poems and, randomly matched with another author, chose one poem from them and wrote a short story inspired by that poem. I think this was clever and thoughtful way to connect these two ways of writing, and it was interesting seeing how they came up with tying them together.

I won't be giving individual ratings, but there wasn't a story and a poem I didn't enjoy. Some of them didn't leave an impact, while some of them did, but I still liked all of them. My favourite story was by Cyrus Parker and I appriciated how it wasn't only inspired by Nikita Gill's poem, but with Poe's Annabel Lee as well. Honourable mention goes to Amanda Lovelace's story, which was my second favourite.

If you have some time to spare, reading this book certainly won't be a bad idea.

[Loring Wirbel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stepped into this collection with the type of trepidation born of the belief that most projects spurred by publishers fall into the "it seemed like a good idea at the time" category. Seriously, choose a dozen young poets and ask them to hone their short-story skills by using other poets' work as inspiration? Sounds like a combination of Exquisite Corpse and Hot Potato at first.

But damn if this didn't work a lot better than it had any right to do. The best aspect of the collection is that all writers aimed for a touch of sci-fi, surrealism, or fantasy in their prose. While this shouldn't be that surprising in the 21st century, it helps to remember that only a little less than a century ago, rabid followers of Ezra Pound and Anais Nin were opting for a lot more social realism as they ventured from poetry to prose. Even in a highly charged, partisan era emulating the 1930s as the current era does, how dreadfully boring a focus on social realism could turn out to be!

Instead, we get stories of selkies and post-apocalyptico calypsos and the like, with the poems - oddly enough - sometimes being the weaker of the efforts. (Don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful poems within, but when I think of this era's best imagist and surrealist poets, these poems seem a tad.... normal. The prose, however, sings.) It's hard to pick out favorites among the fascinating works in this collection, though I'll single out Canisia Lubrin for having an enchanting voice both in her poetry and in her prose, while Liam Ryan weaves a simple love story that could fall into maudlin but never ever does.

Still trying to wrap my head around the unifying/disunifying title, [Dis]connected. I suppose these stories center on how many human lives are both connected and disconnected, but hell, you could say that regarding just about any work. Maybe the publisher thought that the bonds between humans are so frayed in 2018, they could use a little superglue. I'm good with that. But the title would make just as much sense addressing virtually anything, such as Young Poets Make Worthy Attempts at Some Fairly Freaky Prose. Anyway, this one is fun.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mixture of poets with different levels of experience. Featuring poems, short stories and illustrations this was an interesting collection that showcases a variety of poetry forms, includes some insight into how the poems were used as short story prompts and offers a variety of subject matters and unique points of view. While I connected more with some pieces than others, I feel that this is a book I will return to. This is modern poetry so don’t expect traditional formats and rhyming schemes.

I received an ebook proof from Netgalley.

[Bogi Takács]

Done but not reviewing it right now, because I will be covering this book and a related event for a magazine. :)

Source of the book: E-ARC from publisher

[Moh. Nasiri]

We seem to live in a hyper connected world, yet we increasingly hear stories of loneliness, isolation and disconnect.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received this ARC from the publishers for free. In exchange for an honest review.

I loved the idea behind this book. 10 poets. 10 poems and 10 short stories. The poem is written by someone and then the short story is written by someone else but are connected. And so on. In this big wonderful circle of poetry and short stories.
Michelle Halket’s into to this book got me so excited to read it. And it did not disappoint. There was fairytales and love stories and grief. It was a rollercoaster of emotions.

Thank you so much for this opportunity to read this book! Please pick it up when it’s out in October 2018. 5/5 stars.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wooohooooo I got my wish! Thank you so much to Central Avenue Publishing for granting me the opportunity to read an e-arc of this poetry collection in exchange for an honest review! Thank you also to Netgalley, which is a great platform as always!

Sooo...poetry...I think that I’ve read maybe one poetry book until this year, but lately I am growing quite a fondness for it! Poetry really can get you out of a reading slump as well, since it’s mostly shorter in length and easier to absorb but still packs a punch!

First and foremost the idea of getting all of these poets together to create short stories and show their readers that they can do so much more with their talent- great! But, the “premise” of each author coming together and playing off one another’s poetry by writing a short story of their own was pure genius! We need so many more of these bundles —ASAP please! 🙏🏻❤️🤞🏻

So after all of that being said I must admit that I really didn’t “connect”- yes pun intended -with too many of the stories or poems that were written in this collection. I think maybe that could be because it is very hard to grasp what is going on in another writer’s mind when they publish something. Making a
“ connection” to someone else’s work and having to produce something based on your own mind frame or interpretation seems very difficult.

I will tell you this — my favorite duo was by far “Astral Travel “ by Amanda Lovelace & “ A Way to Leave” by R.H. Swaney. My favorite runner up story would definitely be “ The train” by Liam Ryan.

I also found it funny that my top 4 favorite poems were NOT those that were selected to be turned into stories, and they all resided in the back. They were…

-Erratics by Nikita Gill
-A Book and It’s Girl by Amanda Lovelace
-Stained Glass Mirror by Cyrus Parker
- Beauty in the bones by R.H. Swaney

I definitely will be checking out poetry by a few of these authors that I wouldn’t have otherwise as well ❤️

3.5 stars and I hope you do a compilation like this again!

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories and poetry, Disconnected is a book that features an incredible collection of poetic talent from the likes of Amanda Lovelace and Nikita Gill.

The stories are really something in this book, sometimes hard hitting, sometimes beautiful, in particular Cyrus Parker’s and Amanda Lovelace’s stories really strike me in this book. (Spoiler: in fact, give me a whole freakin’ novel of Amanda Lovelace’s short story I’m here for polyamorous selkies).

In between these stories are poems that just space these stories out perfectly. Nikita Gill and R.H.Swaney’s contributions in particular are excellent and really add to the connections of these stories. The variety of contributors in this book is immense but they all work flawlessly together to create something truly great with this book, bringing emotion and flowing poetry to the fore.

A book that blooms as it goes, if you need a short story collection, get this one.

(I received an ARC for honest review).

[Alicia Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

With all the poetry floating around, this anthology is so unique in that it connects the contributors TOGETHER. Brilliant.

[The Story Girl (Serenity) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Might finish this out later after the readathon is over (I post hourly updates here at my blog if anyone wants to see).

➽"That Instrument of Laughter" by Canisia Lubrin
➽ "Parietal Eye" by Nikita Gill (20 pages) with the poem In which the narrator is grieving the loss of her husband, when she receives a mysterious letter from a woman she's never heard of before and learns a secret about her husband.

➽ "Gods and Mortals" by Nikita Gill
➽ "Where the Sea Meets the Sky" by Cyrus Parker (28 pages)
This was about a man meeting a woman at a bar. And a story of rape? And vengeance. It was strange, and I really didn't like or agree with the direction this story took.

➽ "No Turning Back" by Cyrus Parker
➽ "Terra Firma by Sara Bond (13 pages)
Another strange story that I didn't fully understand. A group of people, a post-apocalyptic world, and their search for signs of life or dirt in a desert? Something happened 7 years ago, and the mother of the main character told him (or her?) to stay hidden in the basement until she comes back to get him, which she never does. the MC is unsure if his mother is still alive but remains hopeful. Of course, we never find out.

➽ "Impermanence" by Sara Bond
➽ "Ultra" by Yena Sharma Purmasir (16 pages)
In which three sisters have a superstitious mom with a long list of rules, and one of the sisters gets pregnant at 42.

➽ "Things That Aren't True" by YSP
➽ Driving with Strangers by Iain S. Thomas (12 pages)

➽ "The Way It Works" by Iain S. Thomas
➽ "Small Yellow Cottage on the Shore" by Amanda Lovelace (30 pages)

➽ "Astral Travel" by Amanda Lovelace
➽ "A Way to Leave" by R. H. Swaney (12 pages)
Very confusing story about a guy who astral projects. and a girl he's in love with that breaks up with him. that was maybe killed by a drunk driver? and I can't tell if the way the story is structured is meant to tell you that the narrator himself is the drunk driver. super confusing.

➽ "Doe" by R. H. Swaney
➽ "The Unholy Wild" by Trista Mateer (22 pages)

➽ "Knee to Knee" by Trista Mateer
➽ "The Train" by Liam Ryan (24 pages)

➽ The 7th Day by Liam Ryan
➽ "The Shooting Squad" by Canisia Lubrin (9 pages)
Not sure if I'm just getting too sleepy, but I really didn't understand what this was about, except for a guy losing his twin? And working at a nursing home?

Poems only starting on p. 213 - 241

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with short story collections from various authors are that different contributors have different skillsets and different style of prose. Since their stories are not uniform, all of them will be hit or miss.

I went into the book knowing that so I wasn't very disappointed about this being a three-star reads. I wish it were better though. Because I love the fantasy theme in all of these.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!
This collection of poetry was really good !! I liked most of the texts. I recommend this receuil to all those who love poetry in general. Thanks to Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange of my honest review.

[pi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great anthology of short stories and poems that includes very inspirational pieces. I love how the words of every poet who took part in this book are connected to each other.

Alex Jeanty, Cyrus Parker, Yena Sharma Purmasir, Amanda Lovelace, and Iain S. Thomas’ pieces were my favourite.

[Muskan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a stunning book to experience and both the poetry and stories were beautiful. I found it especially hard to interpret Canisia Lubrin's poetry but once I got it and even before that, I found it especially beautiful and truly loved it.

[Bexx · Rating 3 out of 5]

It take me a while to get through anthologies but I loved the last section where it was the poems. I really enjoyed this book. If you are just starting off with poetry you should pick it up or if you are a poetry lover pick it up too!

[Cora Tea Party Princess · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I picked this up I kind of missed that it was a collection of poems AND stories. And so the stories were a pleasant surprise.

I thought this was a great collection, I loved how everything was connected yet not. Each piece stood on its own but as a collection was part of something bigger.

[Gabriella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, 3 stars. Amanda's and Trista's stories deserve at least 4 because they're the only sapphic stories, and also the best ones.

[Patrycja · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely beautiful book.
First of all the idea of it! OMG! So wonderfully clever!

The book contains poems of ten different authors and short stories followed, based on the poem, but wrote by different author. Such a great circle of unique, creative writing!
I love this idea so much. It is so brilliant.

I read every single world in the book. And I love the introduction by Michelle Halket. When she explained how the idea was executed she wrote:"It was like these stories were glimpses into the writing souls of those ten individuals. Poetry might be a window but these stories seemed like wide-open doors. "

Each poem and each story provokes different feelings. (I am not sure I can say if the stories are interpretation of poems, but they are based on a poem). It is hard to pick my favorite story from this anthology. Every story is a masterpiece! Every story is so wonderful. Every story touched my heart in different way.
I loved fairy like story by Nikita Gill, and dark story by Cyrus Parker. I liked sci-fi like story by Sara Bond, and family, motherhood, story by Yena Sharma Purmasir. I liked story about death and circle of life by Ian S.Thomas, the magical, folk like story by Amanda Lovelace, sad story by R.H. Swaney, mythical like story by Trista Mateer,love story by Liam Ryan, story about grief by Canisia Lubrin.

Each story is different. It has different feelings, but they are all so great. The stories and poems talk about different subject. Either grief, or love, or sadness, or happiness. They are all vast, deep ocean of words.
I can't recommend this book enough!
Also I need to mention that I like the little drawings by authors in the book.
This book is such a creative project!

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Dis]connected is a unique collection of contemporary writing, in which poets write poems on the theme of connection and then write a short story about another writer's poem from the collection. The result is an emotional collection that takes similar lines and concepts in different directions. On one hand, it is a great way to discover new writers, and on the other, it is fresh work from all the writers involved too.

Though there are a lot of good poems in the book, it is the short stories that come after each poem, written by a different author, which really make it. They often take the poem in unexpected directions, often changing the kind of connection too. My personal favourite was a short story featuring Artemis that looks at recovery and also retelling myths.

The combination of forms (predominantly alternated until the end, which has the poems that don't have short stories to go with them) makes this a great collection for variation, and it would be a great book to read in short sittings, reading one poem and its corresponding short story at a time.

[Moriah Conant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book! Even though it's been a looong time since I've willingly read a short story (thanks required school reading), I found myself engaged in the various stories and wishing that they lasted longer.

I didn't entirely see the theme of being disconnected in every piece, but that may have been in the way I read the poems and stories.

If you are interested in 'meeting' several unique and talented artists you should definitely read this book!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Nicole Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was grabbed by this anthology by the list of names I recognised and had previous loved. Cyrus Parker. Nikita Gill. Iain S. Thomas. But even picking it up, I realised that I had no idea what I was in for here.

The introduction written by Michelle Halket immediately informed me that I was in for a very different kind of anthology to whatever I had been expecting. Each of the poets in this anthology, new and established, would both write a poem, and then write a short story inspired by a poem from one of the other poets in this anthology.

What came out of this was something truly fantastic and something I've never seen before, in poetry or fiction. It was the perfect fusion of both.

Most anthologies, there are a fair mix of stories one will love and also not connect with at all. In this anthology, I loved every single poem and story bar just one by a poet I hadn't heard of before.

For that alone, this anthology deserves a high rating.

But also, it introduced me to other authors I hadn't yet read. Though I've heard of Trista Mateer before, I hadn't gotten around to reading her as yet, and I was stunned by just how much I loved her modern day story on Artemis falling in love with a human girl, and was slightly reminiscent of the gorgeous poetry collection Goddess of the Hunt by one of my all time favourite poets, Shelby Eileen.

R. H. Swaney is another author I'd heard of, even have an anthology from, but haven't yet read. His story and poems may actually be my favourite of the whole collection. He has a way with words that I feel is very similar to Kalianne Faye in Moonrise, in just the lyricism and the way that the words just fall into each other. The pacing comes across as deliberate and evocative and just beautiful. I've already jumped straight into reading his collection because of it.

Reading Cyrus' fiction for the first time almost brought me to tears. He's still my favourite poet, but now I also love his prose as well.

Honestly, I can't speak highly enough of this anthology, and am super glad to know there's already another [Dis]Connected anthology on the way!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking content as well as an intriguing way to connect writers.

[Amy Littleford · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea behind this book is one of connection for those who feel a disconnection. Poets from around the world come together and share their talents. They each gain inspiration from each other that form into short stories based on each others poetry. I thought this idea was genius and a brilliant way to combine poetry and prose writing together.

I did read volume 2 first which I enjoyed immensely. I expected the same from this book but only felt this for a few of the short stories. I'm not the biggest fan of high fantasy which a lot of the short stories were which instantly meant I would have to rate it lower. I felt that some of the writing needed work and maybe more information on how a short story should be written for the authors.

My favourite story was by Liam Ryan, titled, 'The Train' which was engaging and well written. If all the stories were to this standard it would have been a 5 star read. Other stories that I enjoyed were 'The Unholy Wild' by @tristamateer which had LGBT+ representation. Although it was fantasy it was well rooted in reality which I favour. Also, 'A Way To Leave' by @rhswaney which represented mental illness very well. The other story I enjoyed was 'Ultra' by @yenasharmapurmasir which was about a mother's superstitions that had influenced her daughters mind.

Overall, this book has a wide variety of topics and genres which as a whole I enjoyed. I really hope that there will be a volume 3 to be released in the future.

Amy x