Terra Emerson reviews
Instructions for an Animal Body
by Kelly Gray

And then one day, a body of work comes along that reaches right through the hollow-bodied monotony of your life and shakes you awake. That is how I felt hearing Kelly Gray read from her new collection of poetry, Instructions for an Animal Body. It’s like I had forgotten that I was an animal; I had forgotten that I was alive and thrumming and sick with want. Kelly’s work brought me back into my body, back into the woods and creek beds of Northern California, back to a primal connection with nature and self. 

Her poems speak of our monsters, beloved and strange. They blur the feminine and masculine; pure beast, sexual and hungry. Written in the midst of pandemic and wildfire, this is a manual for survival. A manual for gritting your teeth, hunkering down, and falling in love with your own feral life.

Kelly’s writing is exquisite and impeccable, reminiscent (though wholly unique) of the work of some of my favorite short story writers — Karen Russell, Carmen Maria Machado, and Kelly Link. Deeply rooted in both imagination and body, this collection will leave you sitting with your animal self, simultaneously satiated and hungry for more.

Kelly Gray’s (she/her/hers) writing appears or is forthcoming in Passages North, Pithead Chapel, Hobart, Inflectionist Review, The Normal School, Lunch Ticket and elsewhere. Her book of poetry, 'Instructions for an Animal Body' (Moon Tide Press, 2021) and her audio micro-chap 'My Fingers are Whales’ (Moonchild Press, 2021) are available at writekgray.com.

Terra Emerson (she/her/hers) is a Librarian for the Sonoma County Library. She organizes programs including a Poetry Slam, Pride Club, and Zine Fest. She is obsessed with literary fiction, poetry, and weird short story collections. To read more of Terra’s reviews and recommendations, visit her Instagram @t.laurel.books.