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The Opposite of Robots: Poems
By Tamryn Spruill
In The Opposite of Robots, Tamryn Spruill takes on the world, the flesh, and the anatomy of longing. Daring in her refusal to simplify or sweeten "the bitter roots of my needing ways," the speaker in these poems sets her sights on nothing less than a transformation of the static material of depression and self-loathing into inklings of what Grace Paley wonderfully termed "the open destiny of life." As I finished the collection, I felt like the opposite of a voyeur, for Spruill's habit of scrutinizing "the guts of everything" registered as a potent, energizing challenge to explore my own "oft-unnerving innards."
-Jan Clausen, author of From a Glass House and If You Like Difficulty
"With a deep sense of movement and a reverence for the seriousness of play (in the sense of holding a space for things to be experienced in), Tamryn Spruill's The Opposite of Robots asks whether it is our flesh that makes us human, or our damage. These poems, packed with immense curiosity and smart wordplay, are, as Tamryn writes in one poem, "mostly vulnerable": deeply traumatized, reaching (towards) something beautiful, and heart-felt (in the sense of the muscle that pulses). The Opposite of Robots is a gorgeous book that documents the never-finished work of splaying, cataloging, and re-assembling the parts both soft and hard that make us up."
-Kristen Stone, author of Domestication Handbook
"Tamryn Spruill's raw poems examine the intersection of flesh and soul, death and renewal. Spruill's poems are an inquiry into language as gut - "from the bones/we rip meat with sharp teeth and/dismantle lithe limbs with strong jaws." In the body space where flesh is both pain-filled and joyful, Spruill etches out her own self and spirit, defiantly. In this beautiful and daring collection, the reader will be devoured and emerge, too, with scar tissues "all pink and unquestioning." The Opposite of Robots shows us what it feels like to be human."
-Teresa Mei Chuc, author of Red Thread: Poems
By Tamryn Spruill
In The Opposite of Robots, Tamryn Spruill takes on the world, the flesh, and the anatomy of longing. Daring in her refusal to simplify or sweeten "the bitter roots of my needing ways," the speaker in these poems sets her sights on nothing less than a transformation of the static material of depression and self-loathing into inklings of what Grace Paley wonderfully termed "the open destiny of life." As I finished the collection, I felt like the opposite of a voyeur, for Spruill's habit of scrutinizing "the guts of everything" registered as a potent, energizing challenge to explore my own "oft-unnerving innards."
-Jan Clausen, author of From a Glass House and If You Like Difficulty
"With a deep sense of movement and a reverence for the seriousness of play (in the sense of holding a space for things to be experienced in), Tamryn Spruill's The Opposite of Robots asks whether it is our flesh that makes us human, or our damage. These poems, packed with immense curiosity and smart wordplay, are, as Tamryn writes in one poem, "mostly vulnerable": deeply traumatized, reaching (towards) something beautiful, and heart-felt (in the sense of the muscle that pulses). The Opposite of Robots is a gorgeous book that documents the never-finished work of splaying, cataloging, and re-assembling the parts both soft and hard that make us up."
-Kristen Stone, author of Domestication Handbook
"Tamryn Spruill's raw poems examine the intersection of flesh and soul, death and renewal. Spruill's poems are an inquiry into language as gut - "from the bones/we rip meat with sharp teeth and/dismantle lithe limbs with strong jaws." In the body space where flesh is both pain-filled and joyful, Spruill etches out her own self and spirit, defiantly. In this beautiful and daring collection, the reader will be devoured and emerge, too, with scar tissues "all pink and unquestioning." The Opposite of Robots shows us what it feels like to be human."
-Teresa Mei Chuc, author of Red Thread: Poems
*****
From the publisher:
In The Opposite of Robots: Poems, Tamryn Spruill explores the complexity of human existence in contradiction to the traits of robots: programmable, emotionless, following a predetermined path. Her stunning poetry ranges from multi-part “story poems” to intriguing hybrids. The strength of the collection lies in her ability to ruminate on an idea at the cellular level – to unflinchingly examine the guts of human existence: the body and the life experience it creates for its inhabitant, the body’s unwitting functions and desires, and the innate human urge to drift toward the dark side, whether by gawking at the aftermath of a horrific accident or by pushing the limits of sexuality.
“It’s my nature to examine the guts of everything,” Spruill says. “And, somehow, by examining oft-unnerving innards – the stuff most people turn away from – I feel like I’m gaining guts… But being a guts-examiner doesn’t make me special. It just makes me willing to get my hands dirty.”
Tamryn’s voice is honest, imaginative, and unwavering. It makes perfect sense that she dedicates this collection to the crude materials that mend broken hearts.
In The Opposite of Robots: Poems, Tamryn Spruill explores the complexity of human existence in contradiction to the traits of robots: programmable, emotionless, following a predetermined path. Her stunning poetry ranges from multi-part “story poems” to intriguing hybrids. The strength of the collection lies in her ability to ruminate on an idea at the cellular level – to unflinchingly examine the guts of human existence: the body and the life experience it creates for its inhabitant, the body’s unwitting functions and desires, and the innate human urge to drift toward the dark side, whether by gawking at the aftermath of a horrific accident or by pushing the limits of sexuality.
“It’s my nature to examine the guts of everything,” Spruill says. “And, somehow, by examining oft-unnerving innards – the stuff most people turn away from – I feel like I’m gaining guts… But being a guts-examiner doesn’t make me special. It just makes me willing to get my hands dirty.”
Tamryn’s voice is honest, imaginative, and unwavering. It makes perfect sense that she dedicates this collection to the crude materials that mend broken hearts.
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