A review by genrejourneys
Artemis Made Me Do It, by Trista Mateer
4.0
Rating: 4/5
(Gifted a copy on NetGalley in exchange for a review)
“Artemis Made Me Do It” is a solid collection of poems invoking themes of trauma and recovery, rage, and divinity by Trista Mateer.
The book is lovely, with integrations of collages and art to help center and drive the narrative. It switches between Artemis and the Poet’s POVs as they tackle different but thematically linked problems from women turning into bears and difficult relationships with mothers. The middle section is by far the strongest and Mateer’s poetry on rage and family had real heart to them. There’s a glossary up from to help those newer to Greek Mythology, which was wonderful.
The poems occasionally fall into tropes that are, while not bad, fairly standard with the topics and pull the work as a whole short. There is also a running pattern of tarot cards which, while never badly done, did feel underutilized.
“Artemis Made Me Do It” was a good read with several poems being clear standouts. I was glad to dip my toes into Mateer’s poetry!
(Gifted a copy on NetGalley in exchange for a review)
“Artemis Made Me Do It” is a solid collection of poems invoking themes of trauma and recovery, rage, and divinity by Trista Mateer.
The book is lovely, with integrations of collages and art to help center and drive the narrative. It switches between Artemis and the Poet’s POVs as they tackle different but thematically linked problems from women turning into bears and difficult relationships with mothers. The middle section is by far the strongest and Mateer’s poetry on rage and family had real heart to them. There’s a glossary up from to help those newer to Greek Mythology, which was wonderful.
The poems occasionally fall into tropes that are, while not bad, fairly standard with the topics and pull the work as a whole short. There is also a running pattern of tarot cards which, while never badly done, did feel underutilized.
“Artemis Made Me Do It” was a good read with several poems being clear standouts. I was glad to dip my toes into Mateer’s poetry!