When I die slingshot my ashes onto the surface of the moon

by Jennifer Nguyen

'Poetry is / can / be anything ... everything, ' says When I die slingshot my ashes onto the surface of the moon . She is sleepy, but they cannot sleep. It is 4:44 a.m. loneliness, this restlessness. The soft hue of blue from the TV bathes the room via a 24/7 lo-fi livestream. 'Poems are troubled into existence' - When I die, she read that somewhere, but cannot remember where, but it has stayed, it is the underpinning of this book and all that contains with/in/out. Where did these bruises come from? The heart, the brain, the heart, the soul? How do I live? How do I keep on living? I don't know, is the honest answer. I must, is the honest honest answer.

Genres: Poetry

78 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2019

Reviews

[donnalyn ♡]

A collection that feels like sleepwalking into/out of a dream. And it has poems about SHINee + that sorrow that I've never read about before. I really needed it to be named to feel real, and I'm so thankful that it was. Seeing Kim Namjoon in the Acknowledgements made me smile. A lot of things made me smile. I also bought this book because I love this poem by Jennifer Nguyen. I really enjoy her straightforward, and simply beautiful style of writing.

[Izzy]

The perfect insomniac companion. There is loneliness and grief and confusion, tinged with a brilliant blue glow. Jen is intelligent, incisive and heartfelt in all the right ways.

[sabsey]

"A friend's father's moonshine rearranges my insides, makes me vomit up the sun. Things I don't understand frustrate me. Things I don't understand placate me. World peace was not achieved just because one side said 'I quit'. Mercy in practice is a spectrum. I mean, a spectacle. The best and worst case scenario is not the same for me as it is for you."

[Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga]

Love this collection so much! Jennifer Nguyen is definitely one of my favourite poets now.

[Lenin_lover_69]

V cute and queer and funny and moving

[Emory Black]

not my speed I guess

[ren]

exactly what I needed today!!

[Marcus Bailey]

A crushingly honest and beautiful set of poems. I find myself returning this chapbook often.