“The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in This One”

“The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in This One”

Written by Amanda Lovelace

Review written by Diana Iozzia

After reading the first two poetry collections in this series, I wanted to continue to read the third one. Amanda Lovelace is a strongly-opinionated, feministic personality, whose beliefs and actions are clearly reflected in her female-empowering poetry. I enjoyed both of her first two books, but I did not love them. Some of the poems were a little too much for me, in a political way or a preaching way. I am not the type of person who needs to be empowered as a woman, but I can still appreciate it.

In each of her poetry collections, along with the theme of feminism, there is a specific type of magical theme. Her first was related to princesses and royalty. Her second was related to witches. This third one is related to mermaids and other magical creatures. All of her poetry collections are very raw, honest, and at times, uncomfortable to read. Her books have many trigger warnings at the beginning before the introduction. Please keep that in mind if you are someone who feels upset or hurt by sensitive material.

Here are the poems I enjoyed:

“Ariel”

“No One Noticed & She Liked it That Way”

“It Was Always the Girl Through the Looking Glass”

“Wild”

“Now I Know You Can’t Fix Someone Else”

“What Wouldn’t I Do for You?”

“Titanic”

“This Cannot Go On”

“Flight” *

“Kill the Conductor” *

“Mother Knows Best II”

“The Good Kind of Drowning”

“I Don’t Mind Standing If I’m Standing Next to You” *

“The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One”

“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” *