Description
Book SynopsisSet against the charms and vicissitudes of growing up in a family of musicians, Jodie Hollander’s beautifully-structured and compelling debut follows the story of a daughter’s maturing relationship with her mother. Interspersed with versions of Rimbaud, and always alert to the surreal comedy of the human condition, these powerful and immediate poems chart with huge passion, musicality and insight a complex journey towards familial understanding and reconciliation.
Trade Review'Compelling....obsessive....heart-rending'
Compass Magazine'For some, childhood innocence erodes slowly with each new experience. The lucky ones get to occupy this safe, uncomplicated realm – at least for a time. The longevity of this illusion often depends on the adults around us. For Jodie Hollander’s protagonist, the illusion is broken at a young age, a recurring sensation that is explored throughout My Dark Horses.'
Lucy Winrow,
The Poetry School'This is a technically competent, enjoyable collection which will bear repeated re-readings. At its heart, it is a book about processing and recovering. You will feel your humanity strengthened by reading it.'
Charlotte Wetton,
The High Window'Magnificent...a vast pallette of emotion.'
Robert Ham,
The Portland Mercury'The nice thing about the expression “dark horse” is that it applies whether the horse wins or not: it captures the possibility of breakout, and then admits the unlikelihood of it.'
THINK'Jodie Hollander’s powerful debut collection is as hypnotic and rich as a dream ... Hollander’s are finely tuned and strongly narrative poems, crafted with strong openings that immediately draw the reader in.'
Suzannah V. Evans,
Times Literary Supplement'The poems in this collection, both blunt and lyric, stoic and tender, roll over the palate like the flavors of a complex dish.'
Donna Vorreyer,
Rhino PoetryReviews ‘A torrent of shocking and revelatory poetry simmers between the covers of
My Dark Horses, pulling the reader in with the very first poem…It takes great courage to write of love, grief, abuse, and survival with such unflinching honesty.’
Erica Goss,
Pedestal MagazineTable of ContentsSplitting and Fucking
The Metronome
Oblivion
The Talking Tree
The Humane Society
He’s
Romancing Herself
Après Le Deluge
Little Serenade
A Cactus
Mother’s Wrists
Transporting the Piano
The Chicken Lady
Mother’s Tomato Plants
Green
How to Fry a Chicken
The Fat Lady’s Arms
Talking in Lamu
The Sound of Scissors
Migraine
The Glass Elephants
The Storm Horse
The Ferret
The Red Tricycle
A Music Stand
Flowers
Horse Bones
Skyping with my Mother
A Box
The Last Time I Saw Her
Speaking with the Dead
Mother’s Persian Rugs
Caprice for Violin
Dream of a Burning Woman
The Last Breakfast
Childhood
Historic Evening
Ruts
Vagabonds
Phrases
Nocturne
Shopping for Overalls in Milwaukee
Treemother
Wild Horses
My Mother’s Will Emailed in pdf
Victoria Park
First Storm
A Daughter
Hawthornden Cemetery
Kathmandu
Zero Hour
My Brother’s Violin
The Family Freezer
A Friend Request
Feeding the Horses
Lake Park
White Horse
Dawn
My Dark Horses
Acknowledgments
