Human Nature

by Alice Anderson

Human Nature explores, both seductively and horrificly, the redemptive possibilities found in an American girlhood gone wrong. Every one of Anderson's poems tells a story—dangerous, sensuous, sometimes crazy, sometimes sacred tales that take us into the heartbreaking reality and strangeness of a little girl who grew up the woman of the house; at once drink-maker, showpiece, secret-keeper, and object of lust.
The terrain of incest and violence sets itself out on the page so subtely and plainly that the poems become mere containers for these extremes, a kind of prayer. Where formal grace might seem impossible, Anderson sings. And this is why the book —with all its darkness and danger—is, in the end, an affirmative one. The poems rise out of childhood's sorrows into a womanhood filled with the past, hell-bent on the future, and ready for a fight. In haunting, elegant verse, Anderson enters into the truth of experience. Through it all, the poems come to embrace those universal illuminations that arise out of--or even because of--suffering.

Genres: Poetry

87 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1994

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tour-de-force. Alice Anderson is brilliant. Her shimmering gift of poems from the "outcropping of hell" is a must read. She excavates the beauty, horror, and resilience of human spirit. This book will change you, no matter what your background.

[Carmelo Valone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I already had left a review on here before....but maybe not. This book is a real work of lovingly heartbreaking poetry. I can't say anymore and I won't ruin it for you all.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense. Heavy. Really good.

[Gene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice Anderson's first book of poetry, Human Nature, is a very intense and totally fearless collection of intimate thoughts. One cannot help but be moved emotionally as she delves into a dark past as a survivor of childhood incest. We are led through a harrowing experiences of a young girl on her way to discover who she really is. And who she is is the embodiment of the human instinct to survive and become whole again. A most intriguing read, once I read the first words, I could not put the book down until I'd read every last syllable.

[THE TORONTO QUARTERLY · Rating 4 out of 5]

An outstanding book of poetry...Alice Anderson is a major talent!!

[Simeon Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Micro-blurb: encrypted meditations on a moral treble clef as intricate as a Borgesian vow.