SYNOPSIS: H.H. Holmes committed ghastly crimes in the late 19th century. Many of which occurred within his legendary "Murder Castle" in Chicago, Illinois. He is often considered America's first serial killer. In her second book of poetry from Strangehouse Books, Sara Tantlinger (Love For Slaughter) takes inspiration from accounts and tales which spawned from the misdeeds of one Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes. Fact and speculation intertwine herein, just as they did during the man's own lifetime. There's plenty of room in the cellar for everyone in The Devil's Dreamland.
I received this book in the latest Night Worms package. Could not resist; tore through it in an hour and then read it over again today, slowly this time. When I first heard about horror poetry I was skeptical, but I Am Not Your Final Girl made an instant believer out of me and I was thrilled to get this one. ((I'm actually researching the 1893 Chicago World's Fair for part of my NaNo; serendipity)) Also, I'm on a Prodigal Son kick and some of the verses here make me wonder if Holmes might've been any inspiration for the character of Dr. Whitly, like Gein was for Buffalo Bill. I mean: "The doctor smiles, an easy charmer loquacious stories dripping endlessly from that mouth. The castle shudders witness to the drugs, sedation and seduction, overly familiar with the way human anatomy looks like sliced deli meat" Yeah. There's a touch or two of dark humor here, but overall the book is absolutely haunting; no shying away at all from how horrifying this guy was. The poems "Silence on the Morning After" and "Evidence" especially necessitated breaks before reading on. My favorites: The Bloodletting of a New Century Innocence Like Birdsong The First Wife: Clara The Tenant The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 Lips Bitten Raw World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago World's Fair) Unblessed Excavation Quotes/lines: "I want to tell you what I was supposed to be but instead I am going to show you the demon I created." "protectors of life robbing the dead of their eternal resting beds because demand is high, and they must have bodies" "They rebuild me and I become the Great White City, fit for a Great White Shark of a human being." "Take the insatiable thirst of Dracula and his bug-eating Renfield, both consuming life-forces because the answer is always blood" "but love terrorizes competent thought processes, doesn't it?" "entwining murder and luxury like salt and sugar placed gently on the tongue where each tiny grain dissolves in a way blood never will." "as if to sleep, to die, no chance of dreaming, no nobility in this poisoned death as the tragedies and great sonnets would have you believe" "For to peer into the eyes of a killed devil leads only to curses upon your own heart"
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SYNOPSIS:
From Claire C. Holland, a timely collection of poetry that follows the final girl of slasher cinema - the girl who survives until the end - on a journey of retribution and reclamation. From the white picket fences of 1970s Haddonfield to the apocalyptic end of the world, Holland confronts the role of women in relation to subjects including feminism, sexuality, violence, and healing in the world of Trump and the MeToo movement. Each poem centers on a fictional character from horror cinema, and explores the many ways in which women find empowerment through their own perceived monstrousness. Poetry is a very hit-or-miss thing with me. This one was an absolute hit. Every poem is based on and titled after the heroine of a horror movie. There were a few movies I haven't seen, but that didn't dim my enjoyment of any of them. I hesitate to quote lines like I normally do. There were several wonderful or heartbreaking (usually both) segments, but since they're from short poems instead of a longer piece... Well, one or two. "She is so tired of waiting-aren't you?-for the world to become good and tolerable and kind" from Thomasin. "The law believes in motherhood, in theory. Put to practice, and you are all recoil, all kickback" from Nola. "I am God and Punisher, Mary full of rage" from Elsa. "I am the woman who goes back into the house because I can't stand waiting on the lawn" from Jess. And the end of The Female (Part II) is something I would get as a tattoo. SO many quotes from these are going into my horror-inspiration notebook. 110% recommend. |
A WORLD WITH A BLUER SUNMy reviews are set up a little like live-tweets: I write down lines I like/impressions as I read, and then transcribe. Reviews will contain spoilers, but I'll give a warning before they start. Archives
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