the witch doesn't burn in this one Publishes on March 6, 2018
the witch doesn’t burn in this one by amanda lovelace
Second book in the women are some kind of magic series
3 stars
“haven’t you
ever wished
you could
dance
in the ashes
of everyone who
ever doubted
your worth
& scoffed at
your words?”
I’m new to Lovelace’s poetry. I know that this is a sequel in a poetry series, but I didn’t think that it should stop me from picking up this collection and I’m glad that I finally gave Lovelace a shot. Some people adore her and some absolutely hate her because her formatting isn’t enough to call a poem a poem. I’m going to disagree with those haters because a poet has free reigns to do whatever they want with the formatting of their poetry. This means that if a poet wants to write solely in prose and call it a poem they can, so Lovelace is doing exactly what poets for centuries have been doing. I actually like her style, but I wasn’t blown away by her poems.
My favorite thing about this collection is that it focuses on witches and the burning of women, so it feels very reminiscent of The Crucible (and it is chalked full of literary odes to novels like Wintergirls [a fave], The Handmaid's Tale [one of the most profound novels I’ve read], and The Hunger Games [which is a fun favorite]), but Lovelace goes from striking imagery to interspersing the narrative to a modern day phrase. For instance, there is a fantastic poem about how men are burning women up because they are women and in the middle of the poem is the line
“they don’t even know what’s coming. how cute.”
The “how cute” portion was completely jarring and it threw me out of the narrative and the purpose of the poem. It does not work well it context to the poem itself and just that one phrase could have been cut and I would have adored the poem.
Also, I have a huge problem with one of the titles of a poem about a man drowning his partner titled “rip to the women who lost these games” and instantly I thought of Laci Peterson and felt sorrow. Not only is the poem very close to the narrative and the tragic murder of her and her unborn baby at the hands of her husband, but Lovelace has the audacity to call this gross tragedy a game that was lost. I get what she is trying to convey, that men and women are in a constant game for power and when a woman finally throws down the towel and refuses to submit she is killed, but I just can’t get behind the crass wording of the title. It deeply saddens me and it makes me uncomfortable. Again, I’m sure this wasn’t Lovelace’s intention, but Peterson and other women like her were not participating in games but trying to survive or find ways out of a situation that could give them just one more day.
Other than there were a handful of poems I really loved, but I wouldn’t say that this is an amazing poetry collection. I did really love the themes and narrative that Lovelace tackles, but I still think certain words and phrases are just unfitting for the narrative she is trying to convey. I do think Lovelace is a talented poet for our time, but she isn't a favorite.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 3
Plotastic Scale: 3
Cover Thoughts: I love white covers with red on them and this striking.
Thank you, Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Second book in the women are some kind of magic series
3 stars
“haven’t you
ever wished
you could
dance
in the ashes
of everyone who
ever doubted
your worth
& scoffed at
your words?”
I’m new to Lovelace’s poetry. I know that this is a sequel in a poetry series, but I didn’t think that it should stop me from picking up this collection and I’m glad that I finally gave Lovelace a shot. Some people adore her and some absolutely hate her because her formatting isn’t enough to call a poem a poem. I’m going to disagree with those haters because a poet has free reigns to do whatever they want with the formatting of their poetry. This means that if a poet wants to write solely in prose and call it a poem they can, so Lovelace is doing exactly what poets for centuries have been doing. I actually like her style, but I wasn’t blown away by her poems.
My favorite thing about this collection is that it focuses on witches and the burning of women, so it feels very reminiscent of The Crucible (and it is chalked full of literary odes to novels like Wintergirls [a fave], The Handmaid's Tale [one of the most profound novels I’ve read], and The Hunger Games [which is a fun favorite]), but Lovelace goes from striking imagery to interspersing the narrative to a modern day phrase. For instance, there is a fantastic poem about how men are burning women up because they are women and in the middle of the poem is the line
“they don’t even know what’s coming. how cute.”
The “how cute” portion was completely jarring and it threw me out of the narrative and the purpose of the poem. It does not work well it context to the poem itself and just that one phrase could have been cut and I would have adored the poem.
Also, I have a huge problem with one of the titles of a poem about a man drowning his partner titled “rip to the women who lost these games” and instantly I thought of Laci Peterson and felt sorrow. Not only is the poem very close to the narrative and the tragic murder of her and her unborn baby at the hands of her husband, but Lovelace has the audacity to call this gross tragedy a game that was lost. I get what she is trying to convey, that men and women are in a constant game for power and when a woman finally throws down the towel and refuses to submit she is killed, but I just can’t get behind the crass wording of the title. It deeply saddens me and it makes me uncomfortable. Again, I’m sure this wasn’t Lovelace’s intention, but Peterson and other women like her were not participating in games but trying to survive or find ways out of a situation that could give them just one more day.
Other than there were a handful of poems I really loved, but I wouldn’t say that this is an amazing poetry collection. I did really love the themes and narrative that Lovelace tackles, but I still think certain words and phrases are just unfitting for the narrative she is trying to convey. I do think Lovelace is a talented poet for our time, but she isn't a favorite.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 3
Plotastic Scale: 3
Cover Thoughts: I love white covers with red on them and this striking.
Thank you, Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Are you a fan of Amanda Lovelace? Do you love poetry? Are you excited for Lovelace's newest poetry collection? Let me know down below in the comments!
Ohhh I didn't realise these were poetry books! I'm actually keen to try this one (or the first?!) because I'm slowly developing more of an appreciation for poetry. Eeep. But that's pity some of the titles/poems were crass and unfeeling. I can understand why that'd totally drag down the enjoyment of them :(
ReplyDeleteYes they are poetry books which is exciting to see them around since poetry rarely becomes as popular as these have been. I do recommend Lovelace for beginners or anyone who is newer to poetry. Yea I was a little bummed, but it was a decent collection!
DeleteHuh, I haven't read any of her poetry books, but I didn't realize this would actually follow a theme about witches and burning women. I see what you mean about the imagery and modern phrasing, how that would be jarring. Glad to hear you enjoyed some of the poems at least.
ReplyDeleteThe theme was pretty amazing and it definitely made this collection much more enjoyable. :D
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