Premonition

by J.M. Paden

A ghost story told in a southern drawl meets a coming-of-age tale steeped in grit and magic, Premonition is both a recollection and a prediction. The poems tackle growing pains, abuse, womanhood, poverty, or the ever-near presence of death. Whether digging up dirt for a vampire boy, hearing a cat's yawn in a father's voice, or laughing at a funeral, the narrator's life isn't always as it first appears. Transformation and memory are at the heart of this collection.

78 pages, Hardcover

Published October 20, 2023

About the author

J. M. Paden (she/her) is a writer, content marketer, and book reviewer from Memphis, TN. Her poems have been published by Foothill: A Journal of Poetry, Ghost City Press, Okay Donkey, Pulp Poets Press, The Bookends Review, and others. She is the founding editor of Antipoetry Magazine and writes a book review column called Page Peeks.

Reviews

[Lynne Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection by a wonderful writer

[Deven Lyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the errie melodies of Ethel Cain to films like The Devil All the Time, it would seem the Southern Gothic is still as captivating as ever. Premonition is a collection of poems that aligns itself with this moment in the zeitgeist but in an effortless way. It doesn't AIM for the Southern Gothic it IS the Southern Gothic. Themes of religious trauma and generational curses come wrapped in tight and precise poems that drip with imagery of southern life: pall mall cigarettes, sticky heat and mobile homes. "Past and present" is a quintessential example of this, serving as- I believe- a sort of mission statement from the author. It encapsulates both the firey passion and meditative melancholy not only key to the southern gothic, but to the author herself.