Scan barcode
A review by jurizprudence
A History of Touch by Erin Vance
dark
tense
3.75
eARC provided by NetGalley and Guernica Editions in exchange for an honest review.
“This is the waxen depth of unmarked women made of wire.”
Eerie and disturbing, A History of Touch paints images of women who are labeled "difficult" throughout history, told by the harsh brushstrokes of verses. The poems are as brutal as the way men and society treated and dehumanized these women, from Bridget Cleary and Rosemary Kennedy to various unnamed ones, maybe forgotten, but not without the lasting marks they left behind. Vance, with her carefully woven words, gave these women voices when they were denied of their own in their time.
Even hours after reading this, I admit that I am still at a loss for words. This collection of poems is simultaneously engrossing and revolting, in a way that I didn't know could be fitting. But I think that's the allure of it: they are compelling to read because they are off-putting in the first place—the imagery Vance paints on the readers' minds through her words is clear, profound, and blood-soaked enough that they can't help but reel away at the start. I expected the poems to be visceral, but I didn't know that there were a lot of body horrors incorporated into them along with the depiction of injustices and crimes against women. While this might interest other readers, I find that this was exactly what threw me off-guard at first, making some passages difficult for me to read. This unique allure of Vance's writing, then, is what makes or breaks the collection, depending on the readers themselves and their tastes in poetry. The individual poems center around different women, most of whom I've heard nothing of prior, and some are folkloric. The insights and contexts of the pieces were lost to me, but searching on the internet provided some understanding. It turned out that there were actually historical references and notes about the women at the end of the book, which made me see the poems in a different and clearer light than before, that I had to reread some of them just to bask in the experience. Some of my favorite pieces are "Crow Theory" and "The Purported Last Words of Ruth Blay".
“Don't let my students watch, don't let the girls see. I haven't yet taught them what it means to be a woman.” Heart-wrenching in its honesty, these lines were what fully drew me in and made me realize that this poetry collection will be haunting me for a long time.
I would say that these poems cater to a specific type of reader, so I recommend this to anyone who enjoys gothic and horror poetry.
3.75 stars rounded off to 4.
“This is the waxen depth of unmarked women made of wire.”
Eerie and disturbing, A History of Touch paints images of women who are labeled "difficult" throughout history, told by the harsh brushstrokes of verses. The poems are as brutal as the way men and society treated and dehumanized these women, from Bridget Cleary and Rosemary Kennedy to various unnamed ones, maybe forgotten, but not without the lasting marks they left behind. Vance, with her carefully woven words, gave these women voices when they were denied of their own in their time.
Even hours after reading this, I admit that I am still at a loss for words. This collection of poems is simultaneously engrossing and revolting, in a way that I didn't know could be fitting. But I think that's the allure of it: they are compelling to read because they are off-putting in the first place—the imagery Vance paints on the readers' minds through her words is clear, profound, and blood-soaked enough that they can't help but reel away at the start. I expected the poems to be visceral, but I didn't know that there were a lot of body horrors incorporated into them along with the depiction of injustices and crimes against women. While this might interest other readers, I find that this was exactly what threw me off-guard at first, making some passages difficult for me to read. This unique allure of Vance's writing, then, is what makes or breaks the collection, depending on the readers themselves and their tastes in poetry. The individual poems center around different women, most of whom I've heard nothing of prior, and some are folkloric. The insights and contexts of the pieces were lost to me, but searching on the internet provided some understanding. It turned out that there were actually historical references and notes about the women at the end of the book, which made me see the poems in a different and clearer light than before, that I had to reread some of them just to bask in the experience. Some of my favorite pieces are "Crow Theory" and "The Purported Last Words of Ruth Blay".
“Don't let my students watch, don't let the girls see. I haven't yet taught them what it means to be a woman.” Heart-wrenching in its honesty, these lines were what fully drew me in and made me realize that this poetry collection will be haunting me for a long time.
I would say that these poems cater to a specific type of reader, so I recommend this to anyone who enjoys gothic and horror poetry.
3.75 stars rounded off to 4.