Landscape with Headless Mama: Poems (Lena-Miles Wever Todd Poetry)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.88 (595 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0807165417 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 80 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-12-12 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
She was also the recipient of a 2015 NEA individual artist s grant. Her writing has appeared widely in literary journals and anthologies, including Best New Poets 2013, AGNI, Prairie Schooner, Indiana Review, Rattle, and The Collagist. She earned her MFA in Poetry from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina and an MA in English Literature at C
Van Jordan “These are true border poems, restlessly crossing between the real and the surreal, the loved and the used up, the fertile and the infertile, and the hungry and the sated. If there’s a line in these poems that doesn’t surprise, I couldn’t find it; one never knows where the poem will take us. These are restless, storm-hued stanzas, revelations of our dark cravings and hapless, woefully imperfect attempts at perfect love. And Mama watches everything. If a collection of poems can be called a page-turner, this is what it feels like.” – A. Jennifer Givhan is a dangerous poet in all the necessary ways.”–Connie VoisineLandscape with Headless Mama explores the experiences of becoming and being a mother through the lens of dark fairy tales. Describing the book as “a surreal survival guide,” Givhan draws from the southwestern desert, incorporating Latin American fine art and folkloric influences. Here are the dreams even our dreams won’t reveal, flaunting wild edges and endings that nudge the soul, each fusing of lyric and lesson as potent as a backhand slap. “Pardon me, but I’m shivering a bit at my core. I found myself tracing “maps of the borderland into my body/ cliff dwelling, the taste of red brick on the tongue….” Each figure rendered, each voice conjured comes to life with their distinct journey, and Givhan continues to remind us of yet another tru
--Blueshift Journal . Its strength lies in its performance of mother-daughter relationships, and the tenderness the brutal honesty with which the author portrays motherhood. This debut collection from Mexican-American poet Jennifer Givhan resonates with the spirit of the arid southwest; the writing is sharp and vivid and passionate, and feels just a little bit risky, a little bit out of control, in all the best ways. Indeed, Landscape with Headless Mama is a beast, its jaws gaping wide. Another collection of poetry infused with the legacy left by literature s darkest fairy tales, Landscape with Headless Mama explores the experience of motherhood both becoming a mother and the subsequent raising of children, the inexpressible love and the incomprehensible exhaustion in a way that feels equal parts earthy and supernatural. In the end, Landscape with Headless Mama is a tale full of whimsy and the poetics of language and yet, at the same time, a tale that doesn
and then I was delighted to be able to go back and taste them CMC One might imagine that there's not much left to say about motherhood, fear, fertility, and the dangers of modern life, but not only does Givhan find new ways to talk about old things, she also discovers new topics within these older ones. Her influences (Anzaldua and Kahlo, among others) come through clearly in her work, but it always remains *her* original and vibrant work, simultaneously interrogative and exclamatory, despairing and hopeful. I found myself in a rush to devour the words as if they. "I recommend reading Desert Duende aloud-- a poem I think of" according to Amazon Customer. A truly gorgeous book. These poems opened wounds that needed to be opened and then offered salve. I recommend reading Desert Duende aloud-- a poem I think of as a mantra for survival-- to fully appreciate it. These poems will let you sit with your sadness a moment and then dance you across the desert.. Jennifer Krohn-Bourgeois said Five Stars. Gorgeous, surreal and dark.