The Natural Hustle: Poems

by Eva H.D.

An astonishing, inventive new collection of poems from the author of Rotten Perfect Mouth.

Includes the poem “Bonedog” featured in the film I’m Thinking of Ending Things

Deeply attuned to the cadence of life, the poems in The Natural Hustle offer provocative, intimate snapshots. They explore the bewildering experience of living—precisely locating unexpected truths. Ingenious, original, surprising, here is a one-of-a-kind poetic voice.

Genres: Poetry

128 pages, Paperback

Published March 21, 2023

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an impressive collection, even if it makes you want to die a little. There are also some nifty formal exercises – I've read poems like "Dublin Harbour Tale" before, but few that worked so well.

Favorites:

"Bonedog"
"Dublin Harbour Tale"
"Postcard from Iceland"
"Tattoo"
"These Real, Dark Nights"

[Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

i picked this up bc i loved jessie buckley's reading of Bonedog in Im Thinking of Ending Things so much. idk how to rate this and idk how to rate stuff on this app in general, i usually just go by the extent to which my enjoyment of a text makes me feel it warrants a rereading. i dont read much poetry and didnt connect with some of these as much as others but i so soon wanted to jump back into most. so many of these have given me a distinct feeling that i didn't know i was seeking in a piece of writing until finding this collection. i felt the quiet reflection that seems to come along with me during the in-between moments of my day-to-day. my mental retreat while commuting, filling my water bottle, stretching while my rice boils, waiting. i was reading the idleness i barely even realized was there. how does this writing so precisely explore so many memories and feelings of my private world when theyre transient enough that i rarely give them any thought even in the moments of thinking them?

this was a great read. my favourites so far on my first readings have been: She awoke to the rain and falling sheets, A cherry-red mg roadster on palmerston sq, Harbour, Dark-eyed junco, and of course Bonedog. i really love Bonedog. id recommend trying any of these whether you like this sort of thing or not.

[Sahizer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed reading this book. I have seen a poem "Bonedog" by her in a film called "I am thinking of ending things" and I really was curious about this poet. Then I discovered the book. It is so nice to discover something wonderful after such a long while. The only problem I had was that the vocabulary was vast and there were so many words I could not understand, hence, meanings. Reading poems, I found some of them more complicated than many others. So I think I need to read the book again. I suggest this book to all the poetry lovers. It is a great catch! Wish to read her other books and her other poems. After rereading this one probably.

[Steph Percival · Rating 5 out of 5]

And now I know that to invent the word gritty someone once time travelled to spring 2023 and read Eva H.D.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

insane. i love these poems dearly

[Samiul Ehsan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Eva! I'll carry this with me everywhere...

[Tarredion · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m only *just* giving this collection a five stars because of the overall quality - and that’s ‘quality’ as in distinctive attributes: abundance of almost-onomatopoeia; those layers and layers of metaphors and, almost / mostly confounding word choices; among other things. A rhythm which literally ran away from me!

It’s teetering sooo close to the edge of a 4.5. I’ll bump it down from the top spot if I need to …

… since I feel this is not a perfect collection by any means. As said, the quality of writing runs through and the style is truly distinctive and never falters. The glimpses of themes, and the character studies too, I love.

But the actual readability of each poem was not consistent at all. Sometimes it’d just grab me — almost couldn’t breathe for some of the beauty, the bustling rhythm. Sometimes, I’d simply be swept up (in a not-great way) and confused, or stutter, and even the rhythm itself would fall off completely. And in either of those moments, I wouldn’t even understand the *main theme* of those few specific poems. I might not even catch the literal words themselves, let alone meaning.

All this to say, I enjoyed the ride. I will reread it.

And yet, what did I gain in the moment? Some truly enticing passages, the general quality of the style, but overall .. very little. And that might seem counterproductive to talk about, but I think it’s so good to acknowledge that I can both love a collection in this specific way and yet feel so (passively) frustrated.

I want more, no, *crave* more from something like this. On a truly carnal level.

It will inspire me. Possibly just not entirely in the way that was intended.

[Jonathan Katabira · Rating 3 out of 5]

TEMAGAMI SUNSET, FAR FROM HOME

I closed my eyes and saw Temagami
as though it had been waiting for me, slow
as its sunsets, patient as the dark sea
stare of its rubberlipped moose; and the low
hum of nightfall, bassline to the solo
of a billion high virtuosic stars.
How does this hope thrum in you-oh,
and why? It glories in its thousand scars;
sudden beauty in the blood like cesium,
its holy surfacings: I did not
know these waters lived in me, dark lesion
of June lake, ache of chances hope forgot.
The dead stars, howls of light resurrected.
Dead love fights for breath when least expected.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of poems from a very talented poet. Not to sell myself short, but I felt I had to work hard to fully understand these poems…not because she wrote them in a confusing way, but because they were so deep and layered that to get a full appreciation I needed to put in more work than I usually do when I read poetry. I don’t think too too much went over my head, but it certainly happened with a few poems.

Being a Torontonian was nice since she mentioned familiar street names and locations.

My favourite poem was Telephone Lineman, 1964

[Sandie raines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goes in my top 5 poetry books the poem List below is a favorite.

Things I could give you:
A crab at the bottom of a boat
a headstand
nine hail Marys &
eight plaster Jesuses a toast
a cooking pot
a pearl of penguin bone on
a beach
the apology on the inside of
my mouth
a soil sample from Prince
Edward County
a lateslip, an eyelash,
a high note, a ribbon
of tightrope.
A noon-streaked crown of kelp
or a handful
of sunlight.
A sabbatical.

A pair of sneakers & a
summerdress
on your floor
at last.

[Kyle Bartsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really impressed with Eva H.D. The obvious highlight of this book is the elusive Bonedog which is indeed from this book (Not Rotten Perfect Mouth), and while Bonedog is the star of this show by a country mile, there are other highlights as well. The last poem, Steeltown Rain, has a lot to offer too, as well as A Man Has To Have His Breakfast. There are some truly great poems here, but Bonedog is just leagues above them. It’s probably become my favourite poem. Definitely worthy buying this book just for that.

[Toby Coad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, I found the more I read the slower and more intimate it felt, some hi lights include “postcard from Iceland”, “bone dog” and “door prize”. I also listened to a couple interviews she did which were fascinating, one called “poetry is bread” which I do recommend people checkout

[Jessi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful bro, you have the
body of a renaissance
soldier, itching to pose o
bro you pretty scrap, trade
your girlfriend for a stuffed
divan and get real
about the business of lying
on things.

— “Ode to a Beautiful Bro”

[Meredith Meade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buy it. Read it. Love it. Repeat.

[K.R. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grounded yet soaring, with breathtakingly apt turns of phrase.

[Damir Ferhatović · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Our good intentions soil and singe
the skin on our fingers, set fires
where they are not wanted-
until we are not wanted, with them.”

[Fish Food · Rating 5 out of 5]

eva is a genius

[tonya singer · Rating 5 out of 5]

now she can write a POEM. one thing about eva h.d? she can WRITE. and PERCEIVE THE WORLD IN SUCH A UNIQUE LENS. i love you!