“The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One”
Written by Amanda Lovelace
Review written by Diana Iozzia
“The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One” is a poetry collection
that relies on stories and the history of women who were targeted, for the sake
of being women. For example, a quote from the introduction: “This is not a
fairy with tale. There are no witches. There is no witch hunt... this is simply
a story where women fight against the man-made structure that has long overstayed
its welcome”.
This feministic theme is prevalent throughout the collection,
as with most of Lovelace’s poetry. After liking this writer’s first book, I was
interested to read her next in her “Women Are Some Kind of Magic” poetry collection
series. Personally, I don’t mind the occasional feministic read. My concerns with
her first book was that the poetry didn’t seem very original. Including metaphors,
allusions, and references in her poetry felt like she was sort of piggybacking
and incorporating ideas of others in her stories. I know that literature has a
history of being retold, but I prefer my retellings to be a bit unique. That
being said, here are my thoughts on this collection.
So, to start with, the book actually begins with a
list of trigger warnings. Instantly, this made me a bit worrisome for the
collection. I have never been the kind of person to be triggered by sensitive material;
I just personally do not enjoy reading deeply disturbing material. I do think
that if you enjoy sensitive, raw poetry, this collection may be for you. The collection
is separated into sections, which seems to be a trend within modern writers. The
categories are: The Trial, The Burning, The Firestorm, and The Ashes. I have to
say; I did enjoy this collection. It will not become a new favorite, but I do
plan to continue to read Lovelace’s other collections and future poetry.
The poems I enjoyed from this collection are:
“The Best Kept Secret”
“Some Destruction is Beautiful”
“Yet I Never Seem to Care Who Gets Hurt”
“The Hollow-Girl”
“Their Darling, Dancing Dolls”
“This is What Womanhood Tastes Like”
“Lilith”
“Unlearn This Normalized Self-Hatred”
“From the Grimoire of the Green Witch”
“We Need You Here & Whole”
“Your Winter Will Come to an End” *
“Reclaim Yourself”
“Resistance is Fine Art”
“We Can’t Lose Our Empathy”
“We Must Be Better Than Them” *
“Reconstruction” *
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