Robin Wyatt Dunn

Thanks to Librarything & John Ott for the ARC

This was a really weird read. Really weird. Deeply weird.

It is prose poetry and leans hard on the poetry angle but also not quite but also, yes, fully that. Thomas and his dog Henry are in hell. Hell it turns out is Graduate School. Is language. Is institutions. Is what comes after those things are over and we must, or at least Thomas and the cast of characters in City, Winter must contend with. Storms are coming and they are weird too. Robin show more Wyatt Dunn takes us the weird way by poetry and digging deep into language. There are few answers. There will be many questions. It is almost like it is a translated work - it feels like it comes from another galaxy and Dunn is the translator of an Epic poem from within his own mind.

Its weird. It will weird you out in the best way and it begs to be reread because it will leave you after sections just staring trying to come to terms with what was just read. There are origins. There are endings and colors and puzzles, and always, as ever, a good dog. show less

I think people will either love or hate this book, I see very little middle ground. It's a mix between prose and poetry to tell a single, intentionally disjointed story. I feel like I still need to read it another 5 or 6 times at least to pick up all the references I've missed, and readers would benefit from some type of footnotes to catch everything. The author uses different styles and intentionally chosen words and formatting to create amazing imagery and a reading experience that, for show more me, felt almost like I was reading a concert or art gallery. Even knowing that I was missing parts on the first read, the writing had me completely entranced. I did read the short description on Amazon prior to reading the book, so I was expecting dimension hopping and some level of disconnect, but this book takes it to the extreme. You can feel the main characters hope and confusion while going through it because of the writing. I would definitely recommend the book to someone looking for amazing writing that is outside the box, like a modern Faulkner or Joyce. show less

Robin Wyatt Dunn's "What black delirious daylight sets you forward in the boat" is a poem of repetition: words, phrases, ideas, and images appear, disappear, and reappear in the same or other forms. In this way, it reads like a boat rides the waves, each swell and crest is distinct even as it appears identical to the previous and the next.

Only when you look up and focus on something more distant does it become clear that, in fact, the boat has been progressing toward some destination. That show more destination in this poem is an awakening or revelation that is worth the trip, if you will just keep paddling. Enjoy the ride as the images unfold before your eyes and then drift away.

"I unfold for you / Like a poem / A weaponized simulation of reality / Set to stir your feet.

"Inside the simulation, / I am breaking the windows, carefully, / With a hammer."

If you are not careful this poem could be the hammer to the window of your heart. But only if you read it closely. show less

What do you get when you mix psychotropic drugs with storytelling? The answer: My Name is Dee by Robin Wyatt Dunn. This disjointed, inconsistent brain bender attempts to tell a story about magic, love, artificial intelligence and aliens. The style jumps across time and perspectives without the glue needed to hold the "plot" together. I would compare my reading experience to listening to an album by picking up the needle and placing it at a new random location on the vinyl every 10-15 show more seconds. Every time you almost get into the groove something completely different is playing and you have to reset and figure out where you are all over again. show less