“This bewitching debut delivers everything the title promises and more. Lyrical and provocative, Gabbert’s poems get right up close to the body … Underneath the strange allure of Sex Depression Animals is a fierce rejection of patriarchal structures, a reclamation of bodily autonomy and sexual power.” —Diana Whitney, Electric Literature
“A chiseled, yet tender self-portrait … Sex Depression Animals leaves you with a strong sense of [Gabbert’s] fierce yet careful voice … Without doubt, I look forward to more Gabbert’s work.” —G.H. Mosson, Heavy Feather Review
“Sex Depression Animals, Mag Gabbert’s first book, tells two origin stories. One is about Gabbert: her childhood firsts, adolescent middles, and every ingredient in her ‘Recipe for Quiet Ferocity.’ The other is about language, Gabbert’s unruly medium, each word aswarm with connotations and near-synonyms.…Gabbert’s intertwined narratives give nothing precedence, lending equal credence to favorite poets’ best lines and the so-called lower senses—taste, touch, and smell. Her distinctive emotional hues are not primary colors but gradients and swirlings—proud masochism, inappropriate laughter, unplaceable heat.” —Christopher Spaide, Harriet Books/The Poetry Foundation
“Blending myth, dream, and realism, Gabbert reimagines the bestiary as a catalog of unexpected monsters and wondrous transformations. These fierce, vibrant poems center womanhood in all its messiness and ask tangled questions about desire, power, femininity, memory, and bodily autonomy.” —Laura Sackton, BuzzFeed News, “13 Recent Poetry Collections To Pick Up If You’re Trying To Get Into Poetry.”