Amphetamine Heart

by Liz Worth

Filtered through insomnia and distress signals, Amphetamine Heart pumps out an atonal pulse over flashes of lowered inhibitions. Channelling punk and heavy metal influences, this poetry collection's soundtrack is set to a backdrop of boozecans and broken glass. Written over a three-year period, these poems are linked by discomfort and decay, frequently capturing the urgency of paranoia and self-harm. Amphetamine Heart is about excess and the imbalance that it brings. It's about people who don't remember how they got home at the end of the night. It's about broken illusions and the dark undercurrents that often permeate party culture.

Genres: Poetry

60 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2011

About the author

My latest title, Going Beyond the Little White Book: A Contemporary Guide to Tarot, is now here.

This is my fifth book, and the first I've written on the subject of tarot.

In 2017, my latest poetry collection, The Truth is Told Better This Way, will be published by BookThug.

I thought her one and only career would be as a writer, but I started reading tarot in 2008 on the advice of an astrologer and my life has never been the same.

Today I tarot help others move past emotional and creative blocks, overcome any obstacles or setbacks, and begin to live their truth through personal freedom and creative liberation.

I'm based in Toronto, but read and teach clients all over the world thanks to the wonders of Skype.

Locally, I read tarot at Likely General and SeeSaw Cafe, as well as at a number of events throughout the city.

I also write an astrology column for Spiral Nature (www.spiralnature.com).

If you'd like to book a private reading with me, or sign up for a workshop, please visit my website.

Interested in more of my writing? Feel free to check out my current books: PostApoc (fiction), Amphetamine Heart (poetry), and Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk in Toronto and Beyond (non-fiction).

I find poetry in empty parking lots, inspiration on long bus rides, and clarity in the woods.

Lifelong obsessions include The Smiths, ghosts, black leather boots, John Hughes movies, The Outsiders, Poppy Z. Brite, The Cure, experimental writing, early mornings, thrift stores, and bike rides.

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick review for a quick read. Liz Worth's "Amphetamine Heart" is a collection of poetry divided into four sections, describing something of a trippy exhaultation with the backing of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I liked some of the on-point descriptions of moods, tripped out euphoria, and at times somber descents. Reading this feels like you're wading through a haze of emotions and following the speaker through these undulating turns of bright and dark, leaning very heavily on the latter. But admittedly, I can't say that this collection of poetry stuck with me as much as I would've liked in places. The first few sections of poems didn't really do much for me apart from just appreciating how they tied together, but as I went through the collection, the third and fourth sections brought forth some gems that managed to resonate with me and bring the piece together in a fine way.

The opening lines of "Goat Horn" were among a few that caught my attention (and this might've been my favorite piece in the collection, as featured in the third section of the work):

"The morning is a marvel
of dehydration and swollen lids,
blood vessels daring to drain the iris."

I love vivid lines like that, dark yet put you right in the moment and mood of the piece.

The titular poem, "Amphetamine Heart" was also a standout poem, featured in the fourth section "Oral Fixations". As featured from the second stanza:

"I had spent a summer tattooing tarot visions to my
palms.
They couldn't make me see.
My muscles stung with the pins of a cat's eye;
I craved decay, fed from ash and wine."

I also loved "The Sequence of Equation" and "Machinations" as featured within the work. Overall, it makes me curious to see what other works Liz Worth has in the realm of poetry, though I think while the collection manages to be cohesive for theme and mood, the flow and strength of the material felt like it could've been stronger and less abrupt in places.

Overall score: 3/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.

[jcg · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adventure in language and content - poetry of experience - seeking freedom from the constraints of reality - raging/uncontrollable/hypnotic - raw, but not ugly, voicing a kind of haunting, struggling beauty.

[Rebecca Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Sex, drugs, and a little rock-n-roll come to mind when reading this collection of poetry. Very bleak, yet genuine.

**Book copy courtesy of NetGalley

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

First bit of poetry in a while for me. Quite nice. Pretty visual.

[Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should really be a 3.5. Enjoyed this, but the experience behind it isnt a familiar one for me.