Vantage

by Taneum Bambrick

Vantage is a fictionalized account of the poet's real experiences working as the only woman on a six-person garbage crew around the reservoirs of two massive dams. Bambrick began writing poems in order to document the forms of violence she witnessed towards the people and the environment of the Columbia River. While working there she found that reservoirs foster a uniquely complex community--from fish biologists to the owners of luxury summer homes--and became interested in the issues and tensions between the people of that place. The idea of power, literal and metaphorical, was present in every action and encounter with bosses and the people using the river. The presence of a young woman on the crew irritated her older, male co-workers who'd logged, built houses, and had to suffer various forms of class discrimination their entire lives. She found throughout this experience that their issues, while not the same, were inherently connected to the suffering of the lands they worked. Introduction by Sharon Olds.

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

First published September 24, 2019

Reviews

[Miggy Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immersive and raw working class art - maybe best book read this year - takes a scalpel to the belly of a world and pulls you into the viscera - at times reminiscent of various favourite working class writers but Bambrick's assured and innovative crafting and highly attuned emotional antennae elevate - Political through proximity and sensitivity to its subject rather than polemic - Truly blown-away and will be eager-looking out for whatever she does next

[Miki]

I heard about Taneum Bambrick's poetry collection from my partner. He thought I'd be interested in reading about a woman working on an all-male garbage crew. The premise sounds like it would be right up my alley: content focused on hypermasculinity in working class spaces, homophobia, the relationship between people and garbage, waste versus consumption, people's connection (or lack thereof) to animals and the environment, containing and taming nature and the consequences of seeing the reservoir as a location for recreation and luxury housing.

As a whole, unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this poetry collection. A few of the poems were, I thought, quite good. However, I think it's time for me to admit that I'm just not interested in reading contemporary poetry. My main concern is that what was severely lacking were poetic devices. I recognize that this is a prose poetry collection written in free verse, but it was as if Bambrick was just telling me snippets of incidents the narrator, the narrator's co-workers and their family members experienced. While there's nothing wrong with any of those points, I'm left wondering why she didn't compose a chapbook of flash fiction or write a collection of vignettes or do a combination of both. If there was any indication that Bambrick was subverting form and/or structure, that would be different, but I didn't notice that.

My other concern with this collection is that it told me everything up front. I like to have to work to gauge the meaning in poetry (in any type of literature, to be honest). Don't get me wrong-I don't want it to be obtuse (I'm talking to you, Ken Babstock), but I also don't want it explicitly told to me. That's why poets use poetic devices, and that's why poetry can at times be a puzzle or mystery to be solved. Prose poetry is, I understand, a form of poetry in and of itself, but even then Bambrick gives almost everything away. I want to have to imagine a bit and get those wheels in motion. Please don't give me "poetry" by Rupi Kaur, Amanda Lovelace or even Laurie Halse Anderson. Those writers simply tell me information.

I realize that I'm in the minority here, but I feel that poetry needs to encompass so much more than what this collection offered. Yes, it won the American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Prize, but I'll stick to the Beats and earlier, thank you!

By the way, if you're curious, Shawn Mooney (Shawn the Book Maniac) kindly invited me to talk about this collection on his BookTube channel when I was about a third of the way through it. Once it's live, I'll include the link here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCsn3...). Thank you, Shawn for having me on your channel to talk about Bambrick's collection!

[Physical copy, purchased]

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vantage is a book of connected narrative poems about work, about a woman in a nontraditional job, about class and gender, about changing, about relating to the father, about nature and the ecosystem. Definitely must be read again. I recommend it. Thank you Taneum Bambrick for this work. And I want to read more.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visceral, powerful collection of poetry (and also prose poems?). Weaving strong imagery with a clear-eyed sensitivity to class / gender / environment, spare without losing specificity. I also love how compassionate and loving it is towards that middle stretch of Central Washington, and the Columbia River.

Wonderful.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad I got to meet Ms. Bambrick in person and gain insight into this lovely collection. She is a treasure, as is her poetry.

[Skylar Miklus · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her debut poetry collection, Bambrick tells the story of the only woman on an all-male garbage crew cleaning up the fictional town of Vantage. She explores the themes of gender dynamics, environmental collapse, class, sexuality, and femininity. The poems paint images of destruction to represent the complicated social dynamics in Bambrick’s cleanup crew, all with a discerning, matter-of-fact tone.

[Juli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection completely blew me away. I've never read a book of poetry that changed me as much as Vantage has.

Vantage is a collection of poems about the summer(s) Bambrick worked on a garbage/maintenance crew for the dams in Vantage, Washington. The poems are accessible with little figurative language which I appreciated immensely. Vantage is gritty, gross, harsh, and vulnerable. Bambrick's poems explore being on the receiving end of sexism from her older male coworkers, her struggles as a young queer woman in a small town, and the upsetting things she witnessed/experienced while working for the dams. (Warning: lots of dead animals and implied sexual assault.)

Vantage is the most cohesive poetry collection I have read. The poems seem to occur somewhat chronologically, and it is intriguing to see her relationship with her coworkers change over the course of the book. One of the things I appreciate the most about Vantage is that while it deals with harsh things, the poems are not written for the sake of shock value; Bambrick is careful when dealing with violence and violent imagery.

I cannot recommend Vantage enough. Read this book!

[Bennvy · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW! I wasn't sure at the beginning but this was an excellent book. Every poem shares the same setting, sometimes even the same characters. Bambrick is very direct, these poems have no frills. The book is just very thematically consistent to an extent that I haven't seen in any other collection of poetry. Bambrick is also quite inventive with her formatting as in her poem "Exhibits: After the Dam Flooded the Town of Vantage" which is about exactly what the title says it is. As Bambrick explores the aftermath of the flood, she shatters and scatters the lines around the page until the poem resembles the wreckage of the town floating on the surface of the floodwater. My favorite poems were "Biological Control Task" and "Cleaning Outhouses" and the one I mentioned earlier and "Elk Splat" but I'm definitely missing some cause I haven't read it since September.

[Cody]

Among the most impactful books of poetry I've ever read. With form deftly evolving to suit both exposition and place, Bambrick's territory is at once deeply personal and shared. The mirroring of themes gives the text a real weight, forcing readers to acknowledge our role in the types of destruction the narrator--literally and emotionally--wades through. None of this ever feels heavy-handed, though--just a deeply moving, breathtakingly lyrical experience--and the ability to balance humor with horror, beauty with ugliness may be Bambrick's greatest feat.

[Ashly Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The majority, if not maybe all, of these poems center around the narrator’s job — dealing with a lot of men, garbage, and a dam. At a certain point, the repetitive themes, names, images become tiresome. I feel like either a different order maybe or just like more spacing like sectioning things out would help me with this collection. I worked at an occasionally physical job with a few older guys so I could relate to some of the sentiments, but overall I think the repetition in these pieces detracts from any larger message.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this! I found the complexity extremely compelling. It truly covered all kinds of things I care about from the environment to feminism and the raw parts of life. Thank you to Taneum Bambrick for sharing the honest and sometimes ugly parts of life. I had the privilege of hearing the author speak virtually through my college creative writing class. I will cherish this on my shelf forever! Much love!

[Amie Whittemore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a smart, vivid collection. I loved how it read like almost a novel-in-verse; the poems interconnected narratives, painting a picture of coming-of-age, of gender, of sexuality, of land and the way we ruin it (and clean it up, kind of). A book I hope to spend more time with, one I'd love to teach. Lovely all around.

[Kate Gaskin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In terse language that punches without the benefit of rhetorical frills or the weight of belabored metaphors, Bambrick explores the relationship between poverty and land, power and abuse. Vantage is a book that is concerned with teasing out brutal truths. No violence, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, goes unexamined. This is powerful, powerful, powerful stuff! Highly recommend.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning. I love narrative poetry, and this was that. But also, there were poems I read again and again, to thrill myself with all the different varieties of balance in them. Syllabic, imagistic, emotional asymmetry, et cetera. This book made me want to write poetry, because reading it was like playing a solemn imagination game alone, and I want to keep playing.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

These poems are intense meditations on the dynamics between people and place, stewardship and violence. Bambrick makes the ugly beautiful and the beautiful ugly in all the ways that delights and disgust you as you read (which I mean as high praise). These poems have tenderness and urgency.

[Ashlynn Faulkner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to hear Taneum read at my college. It was an amazing experience, her poetry has definitely impacted me and I'm so glad I had the chance to read and listen to her speak. I can't wait until she releases more poetry!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find such solace re-reading Taneum Bambrick’s book. To me, Vantage is one the greatest poetry collections of our decade. Hard to believe it’s a first book. Deeply immersive, it explores the violences humans commit against each other and our landscape, all intertwined. Stunning poems!

[Natalie Mau · Rating 4 out of 5]

“…We can only save the river with our/ memory of what the river means.”

This book was a treat. Bambrick weaves together small moments to create a full picture of life was a dam worker. She addresses classism, sexism, ecology, and so much more in a seemingly effortless and honest way.

[Carrie Chappell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved "Sturgeon."

[CJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful writing round an intriguing subject.

[Cody Stetzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was antastic.

[Benjamin Niespodziany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every page feels like unraveling barb wire. Getting your hands dirty. Spitting up blood. Shoveling roadkill. This is one calloused handshake of a great book from front to back.

[Sara Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best poetry collection I’ve read in a while. One of the poets I’ve read recently whose work I have consistently enjoyed. Strong recommend!

[Shareen Murayama · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED every poem! Waiting for next collection--soon!

[Alexis Kop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, haunting, and so true to life.

[Tori Thurmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bambrick doesn’t shy away from the ugly, and that’s what makes this collection so unique. I also really enjoyed the progression of the collection as I read it.

[Russ Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poetic depiction of working life that scrutinizes the tired macho posturing of that genre. Bambrick adds something new and interesting here.

[Elizabeth Wenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

just incredible

[Maddy Dolby · Rating 4 out of 5]

first of many required readings for graduate school