Algorithmic Shapeshifting is the first poetry collection of Bogi Takács, winner of the Lambda award for editing Transcendent 2: The Year's Best Transgender Speculative Fiction, and finalist for the Hugo and Locus awards. Algorithmic Shapeshifting includes poems from the past decade and previously unpublished work. The scope of the pieces extends from the present and past of Jewish life in Hungary and the United States to the far-future, outer-space reaches of the speculative—always with a sense of curiosity and wonder.

Advance Praise

“Bogi Takács is a poet of visceral exuberance and Talmudic invention. Moving as dazzlingly between genres as languages, e makes the reader eir kaleidoscope where ancient traditions, unenvisioned technologies, and children’s toys tumble with ordinary, transcendent precision, imagining new ways of being and observing others signally extant. These poems draw blood and spark synapses, make dauntingly familiar and tenderly strange. You should let them change you.”
—Sonya Taaffe, author of Forget the Sleepless Shores

“Bogi Takács’s poetry is gleefully and unabashedly itself, pulling the reader through surreal worlds of visceral magic, body modification, political wit, and interpersonal devotion. Whether looking back into Talmudic history, forward into a science fictional psychic war, or sinking into the earth and growing flowers from its own eye sockets, “Algorithmic Shapeshifting” presents a voice that is consistently fresh, startling, and sincere.”

- Ada Hoffmann, author of The Outside

Reader Reviews

Leah

(4/5)

Nov 22, 2024

This collection was just as strange and intense as I was expecting--a must read! Read the full review on my blog.

Anthony

I will be posting a longer review on my blog soon. For now: Bogi Takacs is amazing.

Bogi Takács

This is my first poetry collection, coming in May/June 2019 from Aqueduct Press! With a foreword by the awesome Lisa M. Bradley.Cover announcement and Patreon special offer:https://www.patreon.com/posts/public-...____Source of the book: I wrote it! (Does this count for my yearly challenge?!)

E.D.E. Bell

(5/5)

This collection of poetry is beautiful and amazing.I must preface: I am not a literary scholar nor a subject matter expert on the themes highlighted; all I can do is provide my thoughts, and hope they represent the collection adequately! But I want to provide those thoughts, in case they might convince you to pick this up. This deserves attention.Even when writing pain, frustration, or satire, Bogi Takács writes with such inherent compassion and optimism that the experience settles deep within.

Eli

CW found in the back of the book: cissexism, imperialism, colonialism, self-harm, blood, body horror, insects, anti-migrant sentiment, warfare and violence, misogyny, gaslighting, genocide, anti-Semitism, racism, Nazism, death, police, and mention of firearms.Ever since e started talking about this book on twitter, I was immediately interested. I love all types of poetry, no matter if they’re contemporary, historical, or science fiction based and this book had all of them with a strong sense of

Carolyn

(1/5)

Unfortunately, the whole thing was just far too esoteric for me to comprehend or even enjoy. I wanted to understand, but I feel like that could only happen if someone explained it to me.

Artur Nowrot

Playful, rich, and inventive, this first poetry collection from Bogi Takács tackles the problems of the world head-on while also inspiring to rise above them.Algorithmic Shapeshifting is a varied book; the earliest poem in it was first published in 2011, with the latest ones being new to the book. The situations and stories described within range from secondary-world fantasy to outer space, to distant past, to modern-day Hungary. But in some ways it also feels like one story, or maybe like it fo...

Tsana Dolichva

Algorithmic Shapeshifting by Bogi Takács is a collection of mostly speculative poems. I'm not a big reader of poetry, but I have mostly enjoyed, for example, the poems that appear in Uncanny Magazine. Since I also enjoy Takács's writing, this seemed like a good place to start reading more poetry.There is a variety of poems contained in this collection, from very short to longer works and written in different styles. Some are more narrative and some more abstract. A lot of them tell a story, alth...

Ani

Really enjoyed this poetry collection by Bogi Takács. Split into four parts -- I. Trans Love Is; II. A Gentle Introduction to Talmudic Argument Structure; II. Daily Dispatches; IV. The Up-and-Out -- the poetry covers a wide range of topics and always made me think. The book includes a very helpful and detailed list of content notices in the back, for depictions of oppression.There are lots of good poems here, but some of my favorites were: Trans Love Is; The Size of a Barleycorn, Encased in Lead...

Jadin

This thematic collection of poems by Bogie's Takács spans discussions on culture, heritage, religion, and trans right, each masterfully interwoven in sometimes playful, always sharp, prose. From the silly "'Seven Handy Ideas For Algorithmic Shapeshifting' (Try it now--guaranteed enjoyment or your money back! Loss of life not covered under the terms of the user agreement.)" to the deeply visceral 'Gently Chew to Soften the Ridges' (a more beautiful poem about supportive love in a trans relationsh...

Cameron Sant

VERY GOOD

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Algorithmic Shapeshifting: Poems

Algorithmic Shapeshifting: Poems

Algorithmic Shapeshifting: Poems

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Reader Reviews