Praise for These Strange Bodies

“These Strange Bodies, by Court Ludwick, is an incantatory and haunting collection of hybrid pieces—seamlessly moving in the liminal diastema of lyric essay and prose poem—that enact a series of powerful meditations on (dis)embodiment. Part memoir, part body horror, part catalogue of the mysteries and vulnerabilities of human physiognomy, these are pieces that unflinchingly transgress the boundary crossings and trespasses between inside and outside. Here, memories are poltergeists that linger and disrupt sinew, tissue, brain, blood, and bone. Frequently gutting, exceptionally lyrical, and relentlessly inventive, this is a riveting, skilled, and visceral debut.” —Lee Ann Roripaugh, author of Tsunami vs. the Fukushima 50

“With this powerful collection, Court Ludwick has pulled up a chair and taken her rightful place in our hearts and literary landscape. This debut is populated by flawlessly written essays, poems, and experimental pieces, each adorned with such clear purpose that strike at the heart, while offering us a new way of examining themes of womanhood, love, family, community, and more. I am in absolute awe of Ludwick’s brilliance.” —Ukamaka Olisakwe, author of Ogadinma

“These Strange Bodies is an ethereal work that unbraids the trauma narrative through formal experimentation and fragmentation. Ludwick’s journey is both kinetic and electric, slipknotting readers through painful and revelatory self-discovery, into the liminal space between sleeping and coming to. With her lyricism and poet’s cadence, Ludwick reveals how assault, arson, scalpels, and other bodily and societal threats forced her into divided perspective calisthenics where she must simultaneously exist outside of the body while remaining trapped inside the silo of the self. These Strange Bodies is a memorable, visceral memoir. Readers will feel less alone after reading it.” —Tara Stillions Whitehead, author of They More Than Burned

“What does it mean to truly know oneself? To become familiar with the complexities and contours of being human? To understand the rawness and intricacies of familial relationships and how they shape not only our emotional selves but also our physicality? These questions lingered in my mind as I read Court Ludwick’s These Strange Bodies, an extraordinary collection of essays that dives into the profound messiness of identity, family, and the human body. It is one of the most fascinating works of creative nonfiction I have encountered.” —Bibiana Ossai, IHLR

“Ludwick’s unflinching archaeology of self results in a book that is at once deeply personal and creatively inquisitive. The title proffers a body that is plural and unfamiliar, much like the various forms used as tools of interrogation and discovery over the course of the book’s 152 pages. As it experiments with different techniques for presenting trauma and dissonance—including bouts with disordered eating, sexual assault, medical crisis, psychiatric definition, and family dynamics—Ludwick’s language also drifts among the currents of deeper theoretical questions about epistemology and identity. Visceral, confessional detail and hermit crab narrative techniques comprise the engine of this book, which provides readers with an able vehicle for exploring such storied waters.” —D.W. Baker, Variant Literature