RaveThe New York Journal of Books... has cemented the author as a visionary of contemporary American poetry. Her scathing and much-needed critique of the American experience and the imposition of the English language is brilliant, austere, and, importantly, freeing ... Sharif masterfully blends, develops, and transforms her imagery throughout Customs in such a seamless and unexpected way that the reader effortlessly follows these gorgeous, golden, and intelligent threads all the way to the brink of epiphany and beyond. The forced removal of clothing, in a literal sense, is evidence of the brutality of assimilating into American culture. This act (performance) is a figurative peeling-back of one’s home, one’s cultural and racial identity, and one’s individualism and autonomy. The speaker once again seeks to escape these impositions, but recognizes them as, unfortunately, necessary for this American existence ... Solmaz Sharif’s unburdening—the reader feels freer, smarter, and more empathetic by the end. It is a collection of poems that is certain to be treasured and studied for generations.
Monica Sok
RaveNew York Journal of BooksNail the Evening Hangs On is fiery, trauma-stricken, tender, and complicated. Sok weaves together a remarkable collection wrought with memories of those who are alive but not living and those who are dead but not yet gone ... Sok masterfully manipulates tone through repetition to alter the reader’s expectation of how her poems will progress during the entirety of A Nail the Evening Hangs On. At times reminiscent of folklore, the repetition is hypnotic and tangible ... The reader senses that the author’s adroit understanding of human suffering is simultaneously exacting and delicate ... permeates the very essence of our humanity: the connection we have with undergoing hardship while knowing that, regardless, time will continue to pass. This book is about healing ourselves when time does not, and the people and memories that help us to do so. Monica Sok’s flawless collection holds the reader in rapt attention and there is no doubt that her writing will continue to cross innumerous borders—geographical and emotional.
