For those of us who read a lot of poetry, there is such a variety of styles unbeknownst to those who are not accustomed to the nuances and breadth a poet may employ. You cannot therefore, talk of all poetry, or all poets, without distinguishing the style of a poet which may change from book to book era to era.
C Churchill’s collection Petals of the Moon is as you may expect, a soft, whispering amuse bouche of feelings and insights, set against some stark and extremely beautiful images. My first impression was to be reminded of the enduring value and necessity of design and beauty in collections of poetry. So often this is forgotten in the indie market, maybe due to cost or inability to find good design.
Design alone, marks Petals of the Moon as a necessary addition to your poetry collection. The author has considered the impact the book itself will make on the reader, she’s taken the time and effort to really walk through your experience beforehand and ensure you are guided to the poignant and powerful imagery and emotions possible in a beautifully designed book.
Like a few of her contemporaries, Churchill puts her titles at the end of the poem, as a ‘last word’ which has great potency when reading. Instead of a title it’s part of the poem, and speaks to the overall purpose whilst also reminding you of the core. Equally, Churchill employs the idea of a word or more, having an especial role as signifier of the poet’s truth. Just one word can say so much, and this is an art increasingly being utilized online in forums such as IG and FB where shorter more intense poetry is eclipsing longer forms.
While I personally prefer longer poetry, I have grown to appreciate the shorter form in this era of immediacy and social media. It fits well and the images here, remind me of successful posts that are widely shared online and become almost, daily mantras. But this is not all Churchill is capable of. In her poem Stubborn, she proves herself quite superb as a versatile and potent voice with chilling lines like; “I have been calloused / beyond a labor life / hardened beyond acceptable / my walls a labyrinth / no seeker has yet found.” This spoke to me intensely as a mantra for women of our time, and the depth of strength necessary to keep going forward. I found it both insightful and hauntingly simple, which is often at the core of any capable writer.
A writer who wears their heart on their sleeve in a smart way, is always going to attract me, because it may appear easy, but to achieve successfully, requires a great deal of nuance and understanding of form and word play. When Churchill says; “We are all monsters / We are all saints / Maybe that is everyone’s fate.” (nonexclusive) There is such a clarity to something deep and impossible to describe it stays with you long after reading. The title is such a clever play on words, and echoes the irony of our experience(s) without having to spell it out and it is this ability with few words I appreciate and envy.
Churchill uses this mode of straight-talk with underlying meaning throughout, juxtaposed with gorgeous moon imagery and selected two-line poems, that go underneath your skin and remain as mantra in your soul. Her quiet urgency and alacrity are not to be overlooked, for she knows how to pick apart a subject and bare it for all to see, with the deftness of detail without requiring length. “Who buys the cow? / When the milk’s free / But my debt isn’t to you / Them or me. / It’s to grief.” (shitty love songs).
There is a maturity to Churchills work that comes from personal suffering and insight, as well as an intensity to her knowledge of design and pacing the reader in a visual experience. I loved the idea of the moon’s cycles and how the poems curl around these waxes and wanes so thoroughly, you cannot tell if she had the idea first or the design came from what was already written. Either way, her collection is besotted with intense imagery and emotive landscapes that fling you into the darkness and back out beneath the moon. “There are no fairy tales / On this side of the tracks / Knowing coffins aren’t nailed / And burned bridges can’t come back.” (Winning).
You can truly tell when you read a book by a natural born writer who has a vision and is capable of rendering this vision in perfect replica from her mind to the page. You can distinguish the insightfulness of one who has ‘been there’ and survived, and can relate that pain and the dance through fire, to her readers with a gentle all-encompassing translation. There is a redolent romance and hopefulness to this at times sad, at times uplifting little book and I finished it feeling transported into such a moon world, dizzy with its beauty and its message. “Take all those ideas / You had about life / And throw them / Out the nearest window / And while you are at it / Look out / Look up.” (ready for life).
Churchills work breathes slow and steady, her hypnotic drumbeat of optimism and survival, without dismissing the pain and darkness. Her selection of the moon’s cycles as her all-embracing metaphor works perfectly, this is a gorgeously designed and created book I believe anyone would deeply appreciate and treasure. It takes a special soul to walk through fire and still want to light the way for others. C Churchill is such a soul. Buy her.
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About the author
Impressive book
I was fortunate to read this book as I highly recommend it to anyone. I've read many of this author's beautiful words on Instagram and became addicted to her pieces relating to the moon and night. My two favorites chapters were "take the time" and "small deaths." I'll definitely be reading her other collections of words in the near future. @darknightbeacon
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2019
- Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2022
- Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2024
- Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2023
- Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2024
I was fortunate to read this book as I highly recommend it to anyone. I've read many of this author's beautiful words on Instagram and became addicted to her pieces relating to the moon and night. My two favorites chapters were "take the time" and "small deaths." I'll definitely be reading her other collections of words in the near future.
@darknightbeacon
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2019
Top reviews from other countries
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MAGMReviewed in Mexico on February 15, 2021
Una colección sincera pero no increíble
- FarahReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2020
Uplifting and heartfelt prose
