Marys of the Sea by Joanna C. Valente


Marys of the Sea
Title : Marys of the Sea
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1942004257
ISBN-10 : 9781942004257
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 90
Publication : First published October 15, 2016

Poetry. She is not dead, but sleeping, Jesus says in the Gospel of Luke; like the sick girl of that verse, the speakers of Joanna Valente's sharp and urgent MARYS OF THE SEA toss and turn through a series of feverish nightmares that refract lived experiences into prophetic and wild new imaginings. Preoccupied with the consequences of mothering and not-mothering, these fifty-three poems trenchantly interrogate sexual violence and its aftermath, lingering at the site of trauma as though hanging onto the lip of an abyss. Writing becomes power, structure an act of bravery. Like an ancient civilization's first creation myths, these poems utter light out of darkness as they order a world into being.

Marys of the Sea Reviews

  • Kenning JP Garcia

    A book of dualities and dilemmas. Marys of the Sea sees both sides. Or more sides than one. This is a book of angles and assemblies. It is full of pinions and hinges. So much to turn on. So much to put together. " . . . two bodies need two names & how does abandon form in building how does a human form in another human give away another human . . . "

  • John Madera

    Plunge into the watery depths of Joanna C. Valente’s Marys of the Sea (The Operating System), where you’ll find all sorts of aquatic life, whether real, like jellyfish, silverfish, betta fish, and octopuses, or wholly imaginary, like sea demons. Emerge from its lakes, seas, and oceans, and see crows, blue birds, blue jays, starlings, hummingbirds, pelicans, swans, bees, bats, wasps, dragonflies, and moths, not to mention cats, wolves, and antelopes, not to mention other demons, and witches, Sirens, and ghosts. Hearts, skulls, uteruses, vaginas, breasts, and bones also abound in this visceral collection, Valente deftly employing and radically upending tropes, symbols, and figures from the bible and other mythological texts, foremost a series of re-imagined Marys, to question and attack conventional, pervasive, and deeply entrenched notions of womanhood, motherhood, and personhood.

  • Tyler

    Lots of great poems here. I've read all Joanna's books, and this is by far the best one yet. The only way inside is through the back door, creation myth , & earth at the time of mercury retrograde are my three favourites.

    Although the subject matter is at times bleak, and the humour dark, there is also light, and a sense of fearlessness as the author pulls back the curtain on her innermost thoughts for all to bear witness to.

  • David

    These poems are at once disturbing and comforting. The rhythm seems to sooth while there are terrible things slicing. It's wonderfully strong in that double pull, skilled and dark and viscerally evocative. Impressive stuff, stunning.

  • Crystal

    Valente writes poetry on trauma and its aftermath, the effects it can have, in a way that is raw and gutting, that is visceral. There is understanding, there is bravery in being so open.

  • Nate

    This book is GREAT.