Bloodshot Monochrome

by Patience Agbabi

Bloodshot Monochrome is a glorious poetic take on all things black, white and read. Reinventing the sonnet, Patience Agbabi shines her euphoric, musical lines on everything from growing up to growing old, from Northern Soul to contract killers, from the retro to the brand new. Whether resurrecting the dead in 'Problem Pages', playing out noir dramas in 'Vicious Circle', or capturing moments of her own life in perfect snapshot, Agbabi's verse is sublimely lyrical and spiked with gleeful humour.

Genres: Poetry, Contemporary

77 pages, Paperback

First published April 17, 2008

About the author

Patience Agbabi (born 1965) is a British poet, author and performer. In 2017 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Patience Agbabi was born in London to Nigerian parents, and from a young age was privately fostered by a white English family, who when she was 12 years old moved from Sussex to North Wales, where Agbabi was raised in Colwyn Bay. She studied English language and literature at Pembroke College, Oxford.

She earned an MA in Creative Writing, the Arts and Education from the University of Sussex in 2002, and in September that year was appointed Associate Creative Writing Lecturer at the University of Wales, Cardiff.

Agbabi was Canterbury Festival's Laureate in 2010. In 2018 she was Writer In Residence at the Brontë Parsonage Museum.

Reviews

[Olivia-Savannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't really my kind of poetry. The rhythm and rhyme in them was good, but the narratives and messages were found wanting for me.

I also think one of the middle sections in this where she responds to sonnet opinions and questions didn't feel like poetry to me.

The collection lacked a sense of wholesomeness which I prefer to see in my collections. Some of the poems felt random and I couldn't find a connecting thread between them.

[Bookish Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some absolutely brilliant poems in here, Agbabi is a writer with true skill and promise. She writes poems that are wild, sexy, strange, hyperbolic - she puts herself into the shoes of great writers, of UFO women, sleek husband-killers and postmen. Patience Agbabi is a spectrum of characters compiled into this bright, exciting little book. I love the theme - the bloodshot monochrome that runs through the book is powerful, political and interesting.

However, I think she tries to do too much - some of the poetry feels overwraught and a little contrived. There were sections that worked brilliantly, and others that just didn't fly.

She is clearly extraordinarily talented and ambitious, but the collection as a whole just needed that indescribable *something* more (or less, in this case).

'Eat me' is the best.

[Imi · Rating 3 out of 5]

like the insight
that I see the world through a red eye
where blood and heart mean more than black and white.

Agbabi writes using both traditional and slightly more unusual forms, but her themes are undeniably of its time and place in modern day London. Agbabi writes about a number of different themes including racism, abuse and crime, as well as the role of art in today's world, from poetry to popular music.

The collection is split into 5 sections and I found some of these sections worked better for me than others. Mainly I liked the very first section 'Shots' and the very last 'Vicious Circle', that both book end the slightly more muddling middle (imo).

'Shots' is made up of several fairly short and snappy poems, my favourites of which were 'Seeing Red' (quoted above), a poem that introduces an important idea for the whole collection about colour and its meanings, and 'Foreign Exchange', which compares colour and race with the feeling of shame and anger encountered when missing a linguistic translation.

'Vicious Circle', at the end of the collection, is a single, narrative poem in long form. The dark story itself, one of deception, betrayal and a murder plot, and certain lines gave me chills.

In the middle sections, 'Problem Pages' was an amusing idea (famous historical literary figures send in their questions and problems to literary agony aunt Patience who offers her advice) but became fairly repetitive after the first couple.

I really liked the sharp and visceral energy from this collection as a whole, even though some poems did not hit their mark.

[Ollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every morning and afternoon I take a bus that travels through the East of London, making stops in Hackney and Dalston. Bastions once of the English white working class, they are now neighbourhoods made up mostly of descendants of the African and Caribbean immigrants that arrived in Britain in the last fifty years. Poems by a black woman born in Britain (such as Patience Agbabi) are, therefore, the perfect companions to these bus rides, that seem to jump so often from the page onto the side-walk rushing past me.

Bloodshot Monochrome is a collection of sonnets (14-line poems), divided in five parts, that play with the history of the format. Early on, she brings up the past criticism levelled at some black writers that they were "less black" for using a poetic form created by white men. She tackles this through a philosophical humour, by making herself out to be an agony aunt that replies to the worries of Shakespeare, Milton, Keats, and many more.

Her themes vary and repeat themselves: the desire for a continuum between the black and white experience (the "grey area" that ironically means high unemployment here in Britain); the world of Gaydar and ecstasy in gay clubs such as Heaven (with a racist comment instigating her comedown); wives and mothers struggling with their marriages and children - fantasizing about hitmen, seductive waitresses and bitter fairy-tale lives. Music is never too far off, with nods to Northern Soul, rap and Billie Holiday.

Once or twice I was let down by a sentence too close to a cliché, too predictable; a few of the poems didn't seem worth reading twice. However, the overall effect of this short book is to smooth over any of these tiny creases and leave you with a vivid feeling for the contemporary Britain she materializes into view.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a delicious darkness to Patience's poems. I love the way she plays elegantly with different forms, and weaves music and setting so effortlessly into her work. There are some poems in here that get stuck, rolling round in your head for days. The monologues are fascinating, where she creates lusciously dark and diverse characters - in particular, I relished the poems "Skins" and "Josephine Baker Finds Herself". "Viscious Circle" is a wonderful nightmarish tribute to cine noir. The only part I wasn't sure about were the sonnet Problem Pages - it's a cool idea but I struggled to connect with it. For me the bloodshot monochrome / red-white-black theme knitted the collection together really well, and I found it inspiring for my own work.

[Preyash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of deliciously rhythmic poems that just beg to be read aloud. The poems here I liked the most were the dramatic monologues, which were all told from the perspectives of very interesting and twisted characters. I like the way these poems feel on the tongue when spoken - it feels musical without sacrificing storytelling. Was less of a fan of the agony aunt advice section, but those were still enjoyable to read.

Overall, this collection is sharp, visceral, and packs a punch. It makes you feel uncomfortable with its transgressive subject matter as well, but things like that are just what I like to read.

[Kelly Rosalyn Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This poetry collection was such a mixed bag that it feels impossible to rate. 'Eat me' and 'vicious circle' were my favourites by far; they get 5 stars. I really didn't like the middle reinvented sonnet section, and I've ended up at 3 stars because the collections lacks cohesion. I'd definitely like to read more from Agbabi, since I loved her ekphrastic poem 'About Face'. This collection felt bloated with filler, which is a shame since there are some true gems buried in this.

[Gabriel Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I wanted poetry that complicates my view of the world and this certainly delivers. There's a visceral quality, a willingness to deal with the "not nice" that I appreciate, though many of the poems I might enjoy more heard out loud. The focus and craft (that word again) of the sonnets is quite wonderful. And, yes, being white adds a further conundrum to my response.

[Rachel Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting body of work

I enjoyed this collection. There was a lot of interesting pieces in this book, several of which I'd never read anything like before. Visceral, like a punch in the stomach. I look forward to rereading.

[Rosamund · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really mixed collection. I loved opening section of sonnets in particular.

[ToriJaneReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quote(s): "...a man across the street attacks us, spitting/ his violence; the air is cold, and bitter/ faces gather like rainclouds, like an omen..."

[Heidi ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first poem in this collection is stunning. None of the others quite amazed me in the same way, but Agbabi’s talent is clear. I would definitely try another collection.

[GUD Magazine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a thin book. However, if you're about to become the romper room for someone else's narratives, neuroses and hang-ups, it's cheery that the book is at least thin. They won't be here long. Maybe you can cope.

So Patience enters your romper room. 'Shots', the first of the five parts of this poetry collection, turns it around. She wants neither to invade, nor to assault. You've been invited into her sitting room, sat down with a glass of wine, and she gently soothes you with her lyrical voice. Don't be afraid, she says, I've serious things to say, but I'll say them gently, whilst the cat of my metre sits on your lap and purrs. It's okay to laugh, she says, when you get to 'On turning on the TV...' I'm glad you did, and was afraid you wouldn't.

So that by the end of 'Shots', you want to stay some more and listen. This is as well, because the next two parts, 'Monologues' and 'Problem Pages' are not quite as successful. 'Josephine Baker Finds Herself' is a genuinely clever, successful poem. 'Yore my type' is amusing, but you have to wonder how successfully Patience has entered this other world, or are we sharing a misconception of an alien lifestyle? 'Problem Pages', where Patience has famous writers set her questions which she then answers, may appeal to some, and be a useful resource for literature teachers, but it left me cold after the first couple.

In 'Blood Letters', Patience seems to return to letting us share her experiences. Not as comfortable as 'Shots', but we know each other by now, and it's okay to dare a bit and exchange more personal stuff. Exchange? Reading a book of poems? Yeah, you'll be surprised how you start talking back. Until, with 'Black and White and Red All Over', you're shamed into silence. Momentarily. Patience is not a vicious woman.

The last section, 'Vicious Circle', is a long work. Fourteen paired stanzas, highly structured, clearly thought out. I'm not sure I got the story first time around, but as I made my goodbyes and left this writer's room, buttoning an imaginary coat against an imaginary wind, I didn't feel I'd wasted time. I wanted to visit again, maybe ask some more questions. A good time out.

[sisterimapoet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry bears a stronger author fingerprint from other forms of modern literature. Thereby it feels harder to find poetry you connect with. Patience Agbabi seems to have a different background and lifestyle than me, so the poems themselves seem to slide in and out of focus. After a few I realise I have to hope for enjoyment and appreciation of the writing rather than any true understanding of the content.

I enjoyed the way Agbabi brings together traditional and less obvious poetry forms and the way that the poetry is collected into chapters within. Some of these sections worked better for me that others.

The first chapter is Shots and I struggled to find my way in. Agbabi is a little older than me and has a different take on the 1980’s and on the U.K. The poem ‘Sol’ worked best for me depicting and energetic scene of a new birth within a family(“you screamed like an abattoir”). From early on and throughout Agbabi’s use of colour and awareness of it’s meanings and implications is apparent.

I liked the Monologues section - in particular ‘The Siamese Twins’ and ‘Eat Me’, a dark take on a Wonderland cupcake! In Sonnets she takes the approach of the problem pages writing fictitious letters from a wide variety of past poets and answering them.

The Blood Letters section seemed to deliver the strongest hit of what the title of the collection promises. Red is the predominant colour flooding the page. Images are vivid and rhythm is strong (“Black as a beetle dissected and bled. / Worn by the woman whose hair was dark red.”). Agbabi is telling stories, painting pictures and playing with words and the poems in this part mostly worked for me. The vivid imagery is also carried through to the long story poem at the end, Vicious Circle - which echoed its title in both content and structure, with the use of repeated lines.

I confess that I don’t read a great deal of modern poetry, outside of haiku, but I’m not sorry for trying some via Bloodshot Monochrome. And once I readjusted my hopes for the collection, I fell into her style and enjoyed my reading.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Indeed I wrote an essay on her the close reading was disappointing per Jennifer on the problem pages section although it was a daring attempt I liked the London eye that was interesting and the transformatrix lgbtq poetics can we call it that or is it too politicised