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McNally Robinson
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Poems written by Cyborgs in the future – this collection melds sci-fi and poetry, human and machine.
The Cyborg Anthology takes place in a future where there was a thriving world of Robots and Cyborgs living peacefully beside Humans, but a disaster destroyed all Robot and most Cyborg life.
The book is organized like a typical anthology of literature, split into sections that include a biography of each poet and a sample of their poetry. It covers early Cyborg poetry, political, celebrity, and pop culture poets, and ends with the next generation of Cyborg poets.
The narrative takes place in the time after a cataclysmic event, and the collection wrestles with this loss. Through the lives of the poets, the book chronicles the history of personhood for technological beings, their struggle for liberation, and demonstrates different ways a person can be Cyborg. The poems and biographies together tell the story of a complex and enthralling world-to-come, exploring topics that are important in the future, and also urgent right now.
“With mordant wit and a playful satiric touch, these Cyborg poems showcase a dazzling range of poetic forms and ideas: imaginative and charmingly subversive. Move over Norton Anthology of Poetry, there’s a new force in town, and they are a delight.” –Renée Sarojini Saklikar, author of Listening to the Bees and Children of Air India
“The premise of this collection alone is fabulous. The poems are potent and powerful. With echoes of Le Guin, Brunner and Monáe, Lindsay B-e’s debut is layered and smart, provocative, and deeply satisfying. I was moved and fascinated. Speculative poetry at its best.” –Hiromi Goto, author of Chorus of Mushrooms and Darkest Light
REVIEWS:
Queer Sci-Fi and Liminal Fiction – Review
“If you love good-sci-fi, this book is well worth your time – it rewards slow, careful exploration.”
“A once in a lifetime book that speaks to a generation. In this case, a generation that hasn’t happened yet.”
Arc Poetry Magazine – From the Robot Apocalypse, Backwards – Review
“B-e subverts the oft-central question of speculative works: what does it mean to be human? … it does not matter what it means to be human, and in fact, it matters quite a bit more to ponder what it means to be sapient.”
Winnipeg Free Press – Sci-fi Stanzas Strangely Nostalgic – Review
“…the entire effort possesses an impressive confidence, range, cohesion and ambition, making it a stellar debut.”
“B-e’s poems examine being and the elements that compose it. They shift and open the question of what it is to be human.”
“I’m fascinated by the full-length debut by Toronto poet and filmmaker Lindsay B-e … an anthology shaped around speculative fiction, exploring ideas of consciousness, being, artificial intelligence and technology.”
AWARDS:
The Vancouver Manuscript Intensive Betsy Warland Between Genres Between Genres Award Shortlist
“Lindsay B-e’s book The Cyborg Anthology is vast in its ambitions, a polyvocal text that speculates into existence a whole population of poets, and writes their verse as it evolves through the world the author has created.”
Science Fiction and Poetry Association Elgin Award Nomination
LISTS:
CBC Books – 37 Canadian Poetry Collections to Watch Out For in Fall 2020
“The Cyborg Anthology is an original poetry collection that contemplates the relationship between humans and technology and art.”
Interstellar Flight Press – The Best Speculative Poetry is Creepy AF
“[A] a deeply satisfying and well-thought-out collection sure to engage any sci-fi fan.”
All Lit Up – Fall Preview Staff Picks
“I am craving a book unlike anything I have read so far this year, and I think I’ve found what I need in The Cyborg Anthology.”
Autostraddle – 65 Queer and Feminist Books Coming Your Way in Fall 2020
“In a collection both poetry and science fiction, B-e writes poems from the point of view of future cyborgs (plenty of them queer).”
Read Poetry – Fall in Love with 19 New October Poetry Releases
“Sci-fi lovers rejoice! Lindsay B-e crafts an extraordinary narrative in the format of a typical anthology.”
Hamilton Review of Books – 20 Poetry Collections You May Have Missed in 2020
49th Shelf – Most Anticipated, Our 2020 Fall Poetry Preview
Lambda Literary – October’s Most Anticipated LGBTQ Books
Missed The Cyborg Anthology Virtual Launch? You can watch it at your leisure, below.
Lindsay Bradford 