"[In Brute], the anguish comes from an emotionally abusive lover and the abrupt end of a relationship. As the speaker excavates her grief and disbelief, she slowly moves from self-condemnation to a fiery insistence that she can overcome her boyfriend's damaging assessments of her worth and reclaim the power she once ha...The speaker's brutal honesty and emotional transformation offer an engrossing guide for anyone dealing with a devastating loss"
The Washington Post

"Emily Skaja's [Brute] is lyrical, visceral, sharp like a fang, and filled witJh lines that pierce and prod and stay embedded inside your skin"
Nylon

"Brute is an unflinching exploration of gender, violence, and recovery...Within the pain of Skaja's poetry is an unrelenting force, a brutish will to survive that bursts forth with every stanza, announcing her resilience"
Paris Review

"Skaja's poems are both primal scream-songs and elegies to the end of a relationship...With relentless, driving energy, Skaja's poems seek brutal truths while searching for meaningful transformation"
Booklist