Ouyang Yu's 'Fainting with Freedom' reviewed by Michael Aiken

'This book contains microcosms of alertness to the oddity of language as language, the arbitrary way meaning is distorted or inflected by unfamiliar acts of repetition, the use of phrases grammatically correct but somehow socially bizarre/inept, or the inappropriate use of passive or active voice.''The playful self-deprecation in this book feels honest without being earnest, self-critical without being self-effacing; subtle but showy.''Reasserting the value of the subject in the living world seems to be a driving mission of the verse. Whether or not we can describe the ineffable, or comprehend it, to exist is to know the ineffable exists. This book is a celebration, a condemnation, and a defiant incitement to go with boldness, to be amongst it.'The full review, published in Cordite, can be found here.Fainting with Freedom can be purchased here.