IN​ ​PRINT​ ​&​ ​AT​ ​PEACH​:
How​ ​Do​ ​I​ ​Look?​ 
​​by​ ​Sennah​ ​Yee
(poetry, nonfiction)
Metatron​ ​Press​, ​2017

Yesterday​ ​at​ ​​Peach​​ ​we​ ​featured​ ​three​ ​poems​ ​from​ ​Toronto-based​ ​writer​ ​and​ ​filmmaker​ ​Sennah Yee’s​ ​debut​ ​collection​ ​of​ ​poetry​ ​and​ ​nonfiction,​ H​​ow​​ ​​Do​ ​I​ ​Look?​,​ ​out​ ​now​ ​from​ ​Metatron​ ​Press. In​ ​the​ ​cinematic​ ​vignettes​ ​of​ ​​How​ ​Do​ ​I​ ​Look?,​ ​ ​Yee​ ​finds​ ​poetry​ ​in​ ​Grand​ ​Theft​ ​Auto​ ​sunsets, pink​ ​pixel​ ​nipples,​ ​popstars,​ ​webcams,​ ​and​ ​a​ ​girl’s​ ​first​ ​piece​ ​of​ ​lingerie.​ ​Her​ ​prose,​ ​which seems​ ​greatly​ ​influenced​ ​by​ ​her​ ​background​ ​in​ ​film,​ ​captures​ ​the​ ​magic​ ​of​ ​whole​ ​plots​ ​in​ ​just​ ​a few​ ​short​ ​lines.​ ​Her​ ​transitions​ ​move​ ​like​ ​cut​ ​shots​—her​ ​imagery,​ ​like​ ​montages.​ H​​ow​ ​Do​ ​I Look?​​ ​is​ ​ultimately​ ​a​ ​book​ ​about​ ​a​ ​woman​ ​of​ ​color​ ​growing​ ​up​ ​in​ ​a​ ​world​ ​of​ ​avatars​ ​and Snapchat​ ​filters,​ ​and​ ​it​ ​challenges​ ​everything​ ​from​ ​internalized​ ​racism​ ​and​ ​heteronormativity​ ​to fetishization​ ​and​ ​men​ ​in​ ​film​ ​school.​ ​It’s​ ​a​ ​book​ ​about​ ​gazes;​ ​there’s​ ​the​ ​sentiment​ ​of​ ​not​ ​only looking​ ​and​ ​being​ ​looked​ ​at,​ ​but​ ​also​ ​of​ ​invisibility​ ​and​ ​alienation​ ​within​ ​that​ ​looking.​ ​In​ ​“And After​ ​All,​ ​You’re​ ​My​ ​Wonderwall,”​ ​Yee​ ​writes,​ ​“During​ ​my​ ​MSN​ ​days,​ ​I​ ​felt​ ​prettier​ ​looking​ ​at​ ​a webcam​ ​than​ ​looking​ ​at​ ​a​ ​mirror.​ ​Looking​ ​at​ ​myself​ ​look​ ​at​ ​myself​ ​being​ ​looked​ ​at.”​ H​​ow​ ​Do​ ​I Look?​ ​​is​ ​a​ ​thrilling​ ​debut​ ​that​ ​takes​ ​the​ ​pulse​ ​of​ ​some​ ​of​ ​the​ ​most​ ​toxic​ ​silent​ ​killers​ ​that​ ​face young​ ​women​ ​today.

IN​ ​PRINT​:
Transit​​ ​
by​ ​Rachel​ ​Cusk
(fiction)
Farrar,​ ​Strauss,​ ​&​ ​Giroux​, 2016​

“An​ ​astrologer​ ​emailed​ ​me​ ​to​ ​say​ ​she​ ​had​ ​important​ ​news​ ​for​ ​me​ ​concerning​ ​events​ ​in​ ​my immediate​ ​future.”​ ​The​ ​opening​ ​line​ ​of​ ​Rachel​ ​Cusk’s​ ​second​ ​novel,​ ​Transit, ​could​ ​hook anyone,​ ​and​ ​what​ ​follows​ ​will​ ​keep​ ​the​ ​most​ ​discerning​ ​of​ ​readers​ ​absorbed​ ​in​ ​narrator​ ​Faye’s life​ ​as​ ​a​ ​new​ ​divorcee​ ​and​ ​resident​ ​of​ ​a​ ​new​ ​city​ ​with​ ​her​ ​two​ ​young​ ​sons.​ ​Faye​ ​travels​ ​through London​ ​listening​ ​to​ ​people’s​ ​stories​ ​of​ ​defeat,​ ​isolation,​ ​and​ ​longing​ ​for​ ​transition.​ ​As​ ​more​ ​of​ ​a listener,​ ​we​ ​learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​the​ ​people​ ​that​ ​she​ ​finds​ ​than​ ​we​ ​do​ ​about​ ​her:​ ​“I​ ​had​ ​found​ ​out more,​ ​I​ ​said,​ ​by​ ​listening​ ​than​ ​I​ ​has​ ​ever​ ​thought​ ​possible.”​ ​Cusk​ ​masterfully​ ​weaves​ ​the​ ​tales​ ​of these​ ​people​ ​that​ ​she​ ​has​ ​happened​ ​upon​ ​and​ ​creates​ ​a​ ​brilliant​ ​quilt-like​ ​narrative​ ​from​ ​pieces of​ ​other​ ​people’s​ ​lives.