Cut to Bloom

by Arhm Choi Wild

What does it take to unlearn the survival instinct of trauma? What does it take to choose our tools instead of wearing down the ones we've been handed? In Cut to Bloom, Arhm Choi Wild attempts to forge answers to these questions by navigating the hyphen, sometimes chasm, between the Asian and American identity, between queerness and the politics of belonging, between survival and the possibility of choice.

While talking back to the colonialism of strict poetic form, this book attempts to disrupt clear definitions and redefine the American identity as one that is constructed more by questions than answers. This book celebrates the self-made, rogue bouquet, the taking of what you were given and transforming it into something you could make a gift of, and examines what needs to be pruned in order to arrive at this transformation.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT

100 pages, Hardcover

First published April 6, 2020

Reviews

[renée · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arhm’s poetry is raw, genuine and gut wrenchingly beautiful. Their ability to spin you through countless emotions from happiness, to grief to the great joy of finding new love is just what we need right now. I can’t wait to read this work over and over again.

[Madeleine Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A haunting dive into the devastation of trauma, both personal and generarational, of han, and the transformation surely to bloom, even from jagged cuts. The depth of emotion explored in this collection chilled me. As someone who still has to digest what having an abusive father means, the read was cathartic. But also as a queer American, the resonance went deeper. Navigating love and identity, capturing the struggles of doing so as Asian-American. The narrative weaved through such a minefield of traumatic topics, sampling bruises, and capturing my mind in the process. There is such an honor in being able to read someone elses truth, and this one is so poignant. I have no doubt that this collection will be something I return to for some time to come.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hearing Arhm Choi Wild read their poems aloud has, for me, been an emotional and absorbing experience--all the rest of the world falls away. To read Wild's work on the page is a similar thing, a breathless sort of process. It was hard to force myself to break up my reading of this book, to make it last. From one poem to the next Wild takes us through an exploration of violence and trauma, identity and love. This is a book that doesn't turn away from what's difficult or devastating, and I found myself caught by its lines more times than I can count. There is something so direct and exquisite about the love in this book, I'll be returning to these poems often.

[naviya]

- ah, i cried
- this book is so strong, so many excellent poems, i like how they flow, so many lovely lines, so many lovely images
- love, violence, safety, identity
- great sense of other people in the poem? idk how to say this but the people in these poems are real, and their presences aren't just symbols of a thot or some sounding board for an emotion (not that it's a problem when that happens)
- THEIR LOVE POEMS ARE SO GOOD HOLY SHIT
- some of my fav poems: inheritance, vulnerable, take what you can, whatever it is we have faith in, until im ready (!!!), fall for her, a stubborn kindness, ode to unlearning

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A window into Korean-American culture for those unfamiliar. An honest, sometimes cringe-invoking sometimes sigh-invoking account of coming-of-age, familial conflict, and love.

I was particularly taken with “The Forgotten War” and “The Family Business: Iris Cleaners.”

This book of poems will certainly collect notes and puppy ears and binding creases rather dust on my shelf.

[Ann Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an unflinching and intimate collection that lays bare the impacts of family violence and the compounding losses of the Korean language and culture due to war and immigration. Healing occurs here for Choi through action — through reclaiming traumatic histories, accepting their queer identity, and above all, choosing love—of self, of family, of their chosen partner—over and over again.

[Jea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of poetry that captures Korean American and queer identities, as well as the intersection of both. Ahrm Choi Wild uses language masterfully to capture pain, longing, and most importantly hope. Highly recommend.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

19/31
In my marginalia, I have written "oomph" a lot. The sucker punch, right to the gut. "oomph."

"Ever the Pests"
"The Forgotten War"
"Story of My Name"
"A Stubborn Kindness"
"Ode to Unlearning"

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning collection that powerfully contends with trauma, survival, love, and growth. Gut-wrenching, yet hopeful; there is such clarity and beauty in these pages.

[Alyson Indrunas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read little by little each morning. Gorgeous little book of poetry in every way.
Favorite poem "Split to Shape."

Also very much live this press. Hiya Write Bloody Press, where ya been all my life?

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautiful and painful it felt disemboweling

[Ariana van Dyck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made me cry. The way Arhm Choi Wild uses language is beautiful.

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of poems that dive into identity - as a Korean-American, as a queer person, as someone who survived, but struggles to not be defined by trauma.

from The Forgotten War: "being a woman / is the loneliest thing / if you are trying / to survive."

from The Family Business: Iris Cleaners: "so I need you to remember / a laundromat is the one with the quarters / and the dry cleaner / is where my mother / will give them back to you / if you leave the / in your pockets."

from My Father is Kneeling in the Dark: "even the vials of his cologne / break in your hands // so your blood turns fragrant / and betrays you / by smelling beautiful."