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4.5 AVERAGE
4.5 AVERAGE
The introduction by Stephanie Wytovich concludes, "I hope poetry will continue to keep you going, to keep you fighting and loving, because we need you and we need each other."
And this resonates with me because there was a time when poetry and I were strangers. I was intimidated by poetry. Some of what I had read, previously, felt inaccessible and difficult for me to understand. It made me feel stupid, quite honestly. Or that the author was keeping their readers in the dark on purpose, which felt uncomfortable.
Flash forward to the last few years and I have found horror poetry! Now I can read poems and feel like I'm part of the conversation. This is my love language.
There's a note from the judges written by Gwendolyn Kiste and she explains how poetry started with Poe. I can't believe I never considered that I actually walked on my first bridge into poetry with Edgar Allan Poe! How did I ever lose my way after that?
But now for this collection:
I'll highlight some of my favorites, the ones that grabbed ahold of something inside of me and twisted:
ARE MONSTERS BORN THIS WAY by Jessica Stevens- something I think all women could relate to
BLOOD, BRAIN by Donna Lynch- "So many years before infection/ When we still recognized ourselves
MONSTERS BLEED by Naching T. Kassa- I loved the rhythm for this one; like a drumbeat
SHADES OF DOMESTICITY by Sumiko Saulson- Like a flash fiction story!
SHATTER by K. P. Kulski- "Oh to hell with mirrors" I loved this!
CURTAINS by Michael Arnzen- This was so creepy! I loved it. I wanted an illustration
HAUNTED by Christina Sng- Also creepy. Perfect to go with the previous poem in the collection, actually
THE MIDNIGHT GAME by Cynthia Pelayo- Oooooh! This was dark! I loved this
WALKING SAM by Owl Goingback- this one hurts; painful. Memorable.
CROSSROADS CONJURE by Kerri-Leigh Grady- also painful. Also memorable. Unsettling
MOTHER YOLK by Sarah Read- so visual!
RED, RED, RED by Annie Neugebauer- "Remember?"
WE LIVE THROUGH THIS by Lisa Morton- I had these visuals of man marching on fighting battles and marching, fighting, losing, wining, marching...
LULLABY FOR IMMINENTLY MURDERED CHILDREN by Mercedes Yardley- I mean, I love everything Mercedes write. No exception. This was wonderful
RETOURNE by Lee Merry- such a vivid opening line "What should I wear to the hanging"
THROAT STARS by Sara Tantlinger- Sara never disappoints. Such beautiful word choices, I honestly don't know how she does it
4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for Goodreads.
And this resonates with me because there was a time when poetry and I were strangers. I was intimidated by poetry. Some of what I had read, previously, felt inaccessible and difficult for me to understand. It made me feel stupid, quite honestly. Or that the author was keeping their readers in the dark on purpose, which felt uncomfortable.
Flash forward to the last few years and I have found horror poetry! Now I can read poems and feel like I'm part of the conversation. This is my love language.
There's a note from the judges written by Gwendolyn Kiste and she explains how poetry started with Poe. I can't believe I never considered that I actually walked on my first bridge into poetry with Edgar Allan Poe! How did I ever lose my way after that?
But now for this collection:
I'll highlight some of my favorites, the ones that grabbed ahold of something inside of me and twisted:
ARE MONSTERS BORN THIS WAY by Jessica Stevens- something I think all women could relate to
BLOOD, BRAIN by Donna Lynch- "So many years before infection/ When we still recognized ourselves
MONSTERS BLEED by Naching T. Kassa- I loved the rhythm for this one; like a drumbeat
SHADES OF DOMESTICITY by Sumiko Saulson- Like a flash fiction story!
SHATTER by K. P. Kulski- "Oh to hell with mirrors" I loved this!
CURTAINS by Michael Arnzen- This was so creepy! I loved it. I wanted an illustration
HAUNTED by Christina Sng- Also creepy. Perfect to go with the previous poem in the collection, actually
THE MIDNIGHT GAME by Cynthia Pelayo- Oooooh! This was dark! I loved this
WALKING SAM by Owl Goingback- this one hurts; painful. Memorable.
CROSSROADS CONJURE by Kerri-Leigh Grady- also painful. Also memorable. Unsettling
MOTHER YOLK by Sarah Read- so visual!
RED, RED, RED by Annie Neugebauer- "Remember?"
WE LIVE THROUGH THIS by Lisa Morton- I had these visuals of man marching on fighting battles and marching, fighting, losing, wining, marching...
LULLABY FOR IMMINENTLY MURDERED CHILDREN by Mercedes Yardley- I mean, I love everything Mercedes write. No exception. This was wonderful
RETOURNE by Lee Merry- such a vivid opening line "What should I wear to the hanging"
THROAT STARS by Sara Tantlinger- Sara never disappoints. Such beautiful word choices, I honestly don't know how she does it
4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for Goodreads.
I really enjoyed this and have found myself going back to read selected poems a couple of times now! The curated pieces weave together a perfectly horrific collection of poetry. I feel that each poem compliments the next and I really appreciate that in this book.