This book is gorgeous
This book and its contents belongs in a poetry curriculum. This would be a book great to get younger people to see poetry, structure, and how poetry is a beautiful way to communicate things that are hard to communicate.
This book does an amazing job of using lyrical, poetry and abstract concepts and fantastical images to create a narrative that is both relatable, and also one that keeps you captivated and wanting to keep reading. There’s something about this kind of poetry that allows you to both imagine and experience the emotion, but in a way that also allows you to distance yourself, due to the fantastical nature of the writing. There’s something to be said about being able to distance yourself from this level of emotion, but also be able to relate to it on the spiritual level.

I am not the biggest poetry person but this collection was just incredible. I barely have the words to convey how incredible this was. I'd read each poem, think that was going to be favourite, then move on to the next poem and love that one just as much (if not more). Particular favourites were: Changelings (Migratory Legend Type 5805), Trauma Is For People Who Fear Death, the universe and all others, Death Is A Lesbian And She Can Pick Me Up and all of the rose ghost poems. I just loved the weaving of fantasy and sci-fi themes and concepts in with real experiences of living with a disability. I also think the author's note is definitely worth a read is this one, it definitely added to all the poetry. All in all, just a beautiful masterpiece that I cannot recommend enough.

Will post my review to Goodreads and Instagram profiles on publish day June 5, 2023.

Beautiful Malady
By: Ennis Rook Bashe
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description:
A siren song of queerness, disability, and myth, these poems reinvent love, life, and death. BEAUTIFUL MALADY is an exploration of pain, weaving speculative poems about fairy tales, folklore, fantasy, and the supernatural with the reality of chronic illness and disability. Ennis Rook Bashe deftly creates a world where the broken body is beautiful.

Review:
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful. To the point. I loved this collection of poems. The author does a great job weaving disability and sci-fi/fantasy themes together. The poems were understandable and relatable. The author did an amazing job with this and I am excited and curious to check out their other works. I’ll leave you with a couple quotes I highlighted during my read: “Have you got a name for the way you don’t feel anything” and “I want to be dying for, not dying of.” Check this out for sure!

Dark fantasy poetry with the narrative frame of disability wasn't even something I was aware I would be able to find. I am absolutely glad I did though. Bashe utilizes monsters, wizards, and dungeons and dragons to drag out the dark part of living disabled into the light. These poems cover medical trauma, hospital stays, and quite a bit more.

It took me a few poems to adjust to how language is structured within the poems, but the content and framing here drew me in. I will be re-reading some of these poems, and I highly recommend Beautiful Malady to anyone who enjoys reading on disability and poetry. Extra bonus points if fantasy is also your jam!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for letting me get my hands on a copy.

Bashe's depictions of queerness, disability, mental anguish, and mythology are woven beautifully in their poetry. They illustrate the duality of mind and body in ways that immerses the reader into the poems themselves, and especially in regard to psychological conflict, they are able to describe the narrator's clashing thoughts in ways relatable to the reader. Overall, a good read and one I would recommend to readers looking for fantasy poetry empathetic to reality.

I haven’t read much modern poetry, but after reading this book I definitely want to change that. This collection includes beautiful poems on life, disability, love, and much more. It was a delight to read and I look forward to whatever this author writes next.

As someone who also suffers from numerous chronic illnesses and has had numerous doctors and other people not believe me about my conditions (e.g why I cant walk well, etc) I really resonated with this Authors work. I could really see the characters she portrayed and what goes through peoples minds who have chronic illness. It did take me a while to get into the writing style but I really enjoyed the work by the end of the book. Very well written.

There are some great poems in this book, some of which absolutely resonated with me. I was particularly fond of the one that made multiple allusions to Dungeons & Dragons—D&D nerds unite!

Also, best poem title: Death Is A Lesbian And She Can Pick Me Up.

It is worth noting that most of these poems revolve around dark themes, many disability related.

A good quick read, if you're looking for a bit of darkness and depth.

Wow, I loved this poetry collection. It's short but it packs a punch, and the author's note at the end was stunning. Bashe's language is beautiful, and as someone who already spends a lot of time thinking about how we can use fantasy worlds to unpack real-world issues, this one got me good. Several times, I would finish a poem only to immediately read it again to see what I might have missed the first time around.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review, and I've already tracked down the author's other works so that I can enjoy them, too.

In the afterword, the author of BEAUTIFUL MALADY describes how Live-Action Roleplaying (LARPing) allows them to immerse themselves in a character without having to stick to their real-word persona. Yet, without talking about yourself, you are able to convey much of what you really want to say. This is immediately obvious in this book of poetry: Ennis Rook Bashe creates refreshing poems exploring disability and queerness. We are all familiar with those lazy tropes often found in literature centered on the disabled—suddenly they’re cured by modern medicine or even worse, magic/perseverance, it’s been in their head (and their fault) all along, and if it’s not showing the happy ending where someone’s disabilities suddenly go away, you may find a cautionary tale—pity these people, this is a lesson about acceptance/diversity/… okay there we go we’ve got our token disability character.

BEAUTIFUL MALADY examines these tropes and attacks them. In metaphors, in fairy tales, in odes and in unflinching criticism. Lyrical language abounds and creates images that resonate in their ability to capture pain, rage, triumph and resilience.

There’s a distinct voice noticeable throughout these largely unconnected poems. You get a feel of what Bashe wants to tell you, without them screaming it in their face. Sometimes you start reading about a cat hunting sunbeam, unsuspecting, until you are hit with what you really should have seen coming. Trauma turns into lessons learned turns into warning turns into determinations.

Let’s say maladies are flattering. Let’s banish illness as a failure of spirit and rejoice in the unspeakable stories being told. BEAUTIFUL MALADIES will hold your hand and lead you along.

I love the way this book of poetry discusses disability, fairytales, and the supernatural. The author's note at the end of the book also explains how it is sometimes easier to talk about certain issues when you put on a persona, and I thought that was an interesting perspective. Overall, the poems in this book were really well written. They explain difficult topics in a way that is easier to understand.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this!

The poetry here is very interesting, it’s rooted not only in fantasy and science but also calls out those who have never had to doubt the reliability of their own body. The language is at times a lovely rhythm, but occasionally something so casual and abrupt would appear in a way that I enjoyed a lot. Such as a simple ‘sure?’ in the middle of a dramatic moment.

Most of the poems are disconnected but the rose ghost, which reads like a fairy tale is broken up and slotted throughout.

Ennis Rook Bashe's Beautiful Malady masterfully weaves queerness, disability, and myth into a poignant collection of poems. The author's authentic voice and vivid imagery create a world where brokenness is beautiful. Standout poems like "my mother calls me into the living room every time there's a disabled performer on reality television" and "disease vector" showcase Bashe's ability to capture pain and triumph. This unforgettable chapbook invites readers to explore the complexities of the human spirit and celebrates the resilience found within.

A short collection of fantasy and supernatural themes with the representation of chronic illnesses and disability. This was the first I've tasted poetry such as this, and I must say it was okay. Content-wise, though, was potrayed beautifully.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve never read poetry quite this like before. I love the supernatural and fairy tale themes throughout the book! It’s quite a short book of poems but I thoroughly enjoyed them! What I loved the most was that having a disability was shown to be beautiful in this book which is rare to find.