echolalia echolalia

by Jane Shi

Relentlessly inventive poetry that proclaims a diasporic, queer, and disabled self-hood.

In Jane Shi's echolalia echolalia, commitment and comedy work together to critique ongoing inequities, dehumanizing ideologies, and the body politic. Here are playful and transformative narratives of friendship and estrangement, survival and self-forgiveness. Writing against inherited violence and scarcity-producing colonial projects, Shi expresses a deep belief in one's chosen family, love and justice.

"Shi extends her poetics in all directions with silky skill. Language flourishes in the realm of a poet like this."

- T. Liem, author of Twice and Obits.

Genres: Poetry, Disability, LGBT

122 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2024

About the author

Jane Shi lives on the occupied, stolen, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. Her writing has appeared in the Disability Visibility Blog, The Offing, GUTS, ROOM, The Ex-Puritan, and Queer Little Nightmares: An Anthology of Monstrous Fiction and Poetry (Arsenal Pulp Press), among others. She is the author of the chapbook Leaving Chang’e on Read (Rahila’s Ghost Press, 2022) and the winner of The Capilano Review’s 2022 In(ter)ventions in the Archive Contest. Her debut poetry collection echolalia echolalia comes out in October with Brick Books. 

Reviews

[Michi · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautifully strange poetry collection!

Jane Shi explores the question of love, loss, betrayal, and existence in the strange world of the inner self and how it fits (or not) in the outside world. I love some concepts that Jane turned into poetry in this collection, along with careful line breaks that enhance the layers of meaning between the lines. Some of my favorites include “Industry of Caring,” “back in a nanosec,” and “The host has disabled attendee chat.”

There are some poems I just don’t get; and there are some whose forms don’t really make sense or do anything to change the poet’s lines for the better. They don’t really hurt the overall quality of the collection, though; I just thought some editing could be done to the form on the page itself.

[Ally Ang · Rating 5 out of 5]

These poems delight in language, queerness, and friendship, even as they also rage and mourn. Formally and intellectually rigorous yet playful, this collection is an incredibly rewarding read.

[Gabriel Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC given by Edelweiss+ for Honest Review

An incredibly satisfying read! Shi's command of the page and playful form makes for an imaginative and fresh poetry collection. A must read for those that want poetry that pushes boundaries.

My favorite poems are: "incense search engine #AskYrAnscestorsAnything", "how to let someone in", "Catalogue of Tearing", and "Industry of Caring."

[Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

I first met Jane as an undergrad and have since had the joy of witnessing their creative journey and organizing work. If you get a chance, do attend a reading of Jane's to hear their work read aloud. They have an incredible stage presence and truly bring language to life.

Now, I'll admit I'm not much of a poetry reader, but AS a non-poetry-er, this collection is the kind of poetry someone like me would have fun reading. echolalia, echolalia is modern, relevant, and relatable, especially to socially conscious Millennial/Gen Z-aged folks forced to endure institutions to survive. It's relatable both in its content (eg. cheeky jabs at Eng-Lit academia) and in form: Shi's poetry is organized in stanzas and free verse as much as it is in Twitter polls and text speech...

In relation to your rolling pin are you:
-a life hack (5.1%)
-grey socks in sandals (21.8%)
-suppressed grief (55.1%)
-SUV headlights (17.9%)
("The Organization")

And for the diaspora kids for whom a bubble tea run is so much more than a sweet treat, there will be poems you'll just "get."

While some pieces are definitely more abstract and can feel like puzzle pieces, others are refreshingly straightforward. Many poems are just a pleasure to experience. Shi's writing style is playful, tactile, and participatory; they're also hilarious, clever, and unexpected. To tickle your intrigue, check out these aptly named poems:

incense search engine #AskYrAncestorsAnything
The host has disabled attendee chat
is it literature or deforestation?
notes app apology

[Charlotte Lepage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love artists who are unapologetically strange. The cover is amazing. My favourite poem is the “reasons not to kick the bucket” one, but I really enjoyed the poll-style pieces too. This isn’t the poetry style that I’m drawn to, and not going to lie I was lost and confused for much of this book (the notes at the end helped though), but I’m glad I read this. Keep it up!

[maddi1134]

I wanted to like this so badly but I couldn't even finish reading it. Maybe the poetry is beautiful to someone else? I found it dreadful.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

this one is perfect, the music of it and the will to live on i fear maybe all autists want to die often so ty jane shi for this beaming light !!

[oceania · Rating 3 out of 5]

full thoughts in a forthcoming review at the discorder, where the editor is probably paring down the meanest parts for publication as we speak. all in all i actually just liked about 8 of the poems.