Rachel Wiley

Poetry is probably the most difficult genre to review and rate because is such an unique literary format and a true personal one at that. Despite the technical quality, usually what makes a poem "good" or "bad" is how much it resonates or not with the reader. This one hit home.

The quality of Rachel Wiley poems' did vary, but all of them were filled with raw emotion (the kind that scares the shit out of us with its unapologetic honesty), and also addressed urgent and important topics, such as body shaming, mental health, feminism and queerness.

I haven't read poetry in a while, especially in English (it's not my mother language), but I couldn't help myself and do read this in one fast seating. I feel like I would definitely re-read it many times.

There's a lot of food for thought, with just the right amount of humour, and I not only appreciated all of the poems, I really felt moved by most of them, especially "Revenge body", "Handsome, or in which neither of us is The Man", "Executive functioning", "Excuses", and "Prozac 30MG".

I also think most of the poems are meant to be read out loud, and I wasn't able to resist the voice that asked me to do just that.

Finally, I feel it's important to let you know I definitely don't have the same life experience as Rachel. But that's why I also loved some of her poems so much. Because, even in the midst of our differences, I saw myself in little parts of it, just enough to not feel alone in my moments of wrongness.

I can't wait to buy a physical copy and will definitely recommend it at every opportunity, but especially to my closest girl friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

#RevengeBody #RachelWiley #ButtonPoetry #NetGalley… (mere)

Fat Girl Finishing School, a book of poems by Rachel Wiley, uses tender and confessional language to create a space for self-love. Wiley's poetry plainly acknowledges how terrifying it can be to love yourself and tells you that you're worthy of it anyway. Her poems aren't as consistent in quality as I would like, but I can't recommend Fat Girl Finishing School enough.

One of the things I loved about Fat Girl Finishing School was just how many things I felt when I was reading it. As I read "Naked Atonement," in which Wiley lovingly addresses her own body, I wanted to give myself a hug. "Hoarder," which paints a haunting portrait of a neglected widow, allowed me to sympathize with a stranger's grief. Reading "Brass Knuckles," where Wiley pays tribute to female strength, made me feel like I could do anything. Fat Girl Finishing School takes you on a freewheeling emotional journey and asserts that every part of our humanity - however messy - is worthy of being seen. At its best, Fat Girl Finishing School left me feeling dazzled by its evocative, richly detailed verses. In "Americana," where Wiley grapples with her biracial identity, she writes: "My spine is a railroad tie on the tracks that segregate/the races in my mother's pink-cheeked southern Ohio town." In "For Nicholas Who Is So Concerned," Wiley sarcastically praises a fatphobic man for his originality: "Like I never felt laughter slinky-walk my spine,/or deep kissed pavement at the sound of an insult backfired/from a passing car,/or felt every single knuckle in a punch line." Through her use of language, Wiley depicts human vulnerability with arresting clarity. By casting a light on emotions that many of us feel embarrassed about, she made me feel safer acknowledging the softer parts of myself.

In spite of everything I loved about Fat Girl Finishing School, certain flaws did take away from my enjoyment of it. Some of Wiley's poems, like "Gorgon" and "Wife Material," were direct responses to events that took place around the time this work was published. These poems seemed more focused on expressing political points than capturing nuanced emotional realities, and the language was a little stilted. Wiley's work was weakest for me when she focused on humor and social observation, such as in "The Unbearable Likeness of Being on OkCupid" and "Sunday Morning Casino Service" respectively. Many of her comedic poems felt a little corny, and the observational poems weren't vivid or specific enough to hold my interest. This isn't a critique so much as a caveat, but I also wanted to note that certain poems aren't very accessible for those who are unused to reading poetry. Poems like "How to Become a Heretic" and "What Bette Davis Made Me Do" are packed with figurative language, and it was challenging to figure out how all of Wiley's metaphors worked together as a whole.

That said, despite these issues, what I'll remember most from Fat Girl Finishing School is Wiley's tenderness, towards her body and herself. I've already memorized multiple quotes from Fat Girl Finishing School to tell myself on difficult days. From "Naked Atonement," my favorite poem in this collection: "I need no one's green light to love you but my own,/and from here on out, it is all emerald/brilliance and go." From "Daylight," which Wiley dedicated to a bullied fan: "We are the daylight/and no one can go on if the day starts hiding." I can't endorse every part of Fat Girl Finishing School, but poems like these make the collection absolutely worth reading. If you're interested in beautiful, richly detailed, subversive poetry that crawls into bed with you and tells you that you deserve love, then Fat Girl Finishing School is for you.

Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review was originally published on my personal website: journeys.dartmouth.edu/umamramesh/umareads… (mere)