I've been wanting to read more and different poetry, and this was my introduction to the sestina. I didn't research what a sestina was before reading, and so Jane's intro and explanation was for me especially appreciated. This work is the result of her daily yoga and sestina-writing ritual, blended together to create something rich and unique, but at times overly opaque.

Throughout the book, Jane's writing vacillates between cogent story-telling and dense streams of description. Many of the poems abandoned articles like "a" and "the" along with other small words and incorporated a significant amount of Hindu terminology. This combination often left me trying to get my bearings and occasionally totally mired in the density of the poems. However, I did appreciate the continuity throughout. For instance, the repeated appearance of menstruation and other themes made the work feel more cohesive.

I was left with the impression that much of She Bleeds Sestinas was meant to be experienced, not really understood. I think this would be a great read for folks who have a strong grasp of yoga/Hindu terminology and/or who enjoy a vibrant and descriptive but somewhat incoherent poetry.

Thank you NetGalley and Atmosphere Press for the chance to read and review this.

The book had a lot of potential because I'd never really heard about Sestina's before, but it was not good. It just bored me.

3 stars because maybe it's just personal taste.

This was such a great blend of the two things that bring me peace - poetry and yoga. It was an incredible read and one that I may actually read again.

This was a very interesting poetry collection. I found it to be thought-provoking and interesting. It was also in a slightly different and unique format compared to a more traditional format. This is a collection that tells a story in a very fun and abstract way. I'll most likely check out any works the author has out. I'll be adding a copy to my shelves in the future.