RaveCleveland Review of BooksSolmaz Sharif’s spectacular sophomore collection, Customs, is filled with crushing poems that carry weariness, rebuilt and disrupted again and again ... Customs builds a collection from the tensions that exist in the word \'customs\' itself: tradition, ritual, longevity; but also: a border, a declaration, a sterile proceeding. It is through these tensions that the poems of Customs arrive, some sharp and heavy-hitting, others long and drawn out with ample space on the page. Whether in the collapse of logical reason in \'Social Skills Training\'—a prose poem that ends with the gutting line, \'Solmaz, have you thanked your executioner today?\'—or the enormity of \'An Otherwise,\' Customs\' strength comes from its ability to be vulnerable and determined all at once ... In a massive feat, Customs continues the work of Look, pushing its mission forward with a new slate of sharp, memorable pieces that are set to inspire yet another generation.
