“For Diannely Antigua, the body is a site of trauma and awe; it is at once magical and damaged. Antigua's poems layer lyricism, religious language, and the tactile materials of daily life to build altars of affection for the people and things of her world.” —Whiting Award Selection Committee
“The coming-of-age narrative that unfolds in Ugly Music is dark, certainly, haunted by childhood sexual abuse, depression, and the gendered power dynamics of a Pentecostal upbringing, but in navigating this darkness, Antigua evokes a richness of texture, sound, and color.” —Pleiades
“Diannely Antigua’s Ugly Music is a beautiful disturbance of erotic energy. . . Antigua’s seduction is both intellectual and physical, a force strong enough to counter the emotional pains recounted here . . .” —Catherine Barnett
“Diannely Antigua’s poems embody the struggles of a modern girl who confronts both her privilege and oppression, sexuality and sexual trauma.” —Muzzle Magazine
“By blurring the lines between holiness and danger, self-sacrifice and self-preservation, humor and heartache, Ugly Music pushes boundaries and asks us to re-examine what we think we know.” —RHINO Poetry
“Antigua takes the aspects of femininity women and girls are often punished for and polishes them until they sing.” —Kate Gaskin
“Many poems center on the speaker’s relationship with her mother, and how the speaker, who’s now older, attempts to understand the moments they shared, however awkward, painful, or tragic they were. . .” —Heavy Feather Review
