Friday, October 22, 2021

"Victims"

 

I should mention that collaborators Mary Turzillo and Marge Simon have a new book of dark poetry out, Victims, from Weasel Press. Seems like a lot of literature celebrates villains; it's a little more unusual to see the other side.

Both paper and e-versions are available, either from the publisher, or from Amazon.


This is one of the braver dark poetry collections I’ve seen in a while. Horror poets generally employ victims in their work, but the focus is generally on the Evil. Turning the camera the other way is unusual, unsettling, emotionally risky, and surprisingly effective. From their stark opening take on Pygmalion, to the ending poem about the wasted life of Stateira of Persia, this powerful collection teases apart an impressive number of the threads of victimhood. Some are the usual cases, but quite a few are surprises, or reversals, or cases with unexpected layers. There is nothing repetitive about this collection.

 —Timons Esaias

2 comments:

Mary Turzillo said...

Thank so much for posting this. Marge and I poured a lot of emotion and caring into this. It's about victims everywhere. I hope it gives attention and hope. I think people will read it with sympathy. I hope it will raise both compassion and shock.

John B. Burroughs said...

Cool! Congratulations. I was just perusing their previous book, Sweet Poison, last night.

Cited...

The poet doesn't invent. He listens. ~Jean Cocteau