Rain, Wind, Thunder, Fire, Daughter: Poems

by Hannah Dierdorff

Rain, Wind, Thunder, Fire, Daughter is a story about leaving religion and coming of age in a world of accelerating climate apocalypses and environmental loss. In her debut collection of poems, HG Dierdorff interweaves an investigation of wildfires in Eastern Washington with a personal account of growing up in Christian fundamentalism, calling our attention to the violent histories undergirding both.

“I want you to touch the fire / sparking from my lips” the opening sonnet commands, daring the reader to abandon the safety of analytical distance and draw close to the moment of ignition itself. The voice that emerges is incessant, ecstatic, explosive. Fire erupts from every page, multiplying into rage, desire, judgment, responsibility, and renewal.

A love song to the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a dramatic portrait of a daughter struggling to find her place in her family, and a philosophical exploration of the limits of language and belief, this collection demands the necessity of both pleasure and grief as responses to a world on fire.

123 pages, Paperback

Published December 3, 2024

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being from Spokane like the author, I resonated with the local references. The poems are rooted in place, scientific and exact. The author explores themes such as ecological change, humanity's relationship to the earth, religious trauma, leaving her family's faith, and family ties.

[Sakura · Rating 4 out of 5]

this made me feel depressed and also not depressed so what’s up with that

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful series of poems full of heartbreak and hope. The poet’s vulnerability and artistic telling of their own perspective and experience encourages me to see my own life through a more natural lens. The poet’s unique presentations of humanity alongside the environment has left me a more enriched individual.

[Tessa! · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was so yummy mmmm made me feel like a little worm eating pages

[Liralen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inside my body, the doll house floating / on the coffee table, Dierdorff writes in the title poem. Outside, the seconds between light and sound / unravel whether or not God counts them. (16*)

Rain, Wind, Thunder, Fire, Daughter is an exploration of climate change and conservative religion—the wildfires within and without. I am finding that I like this sort of collection, where one or two themes wrap around each other and turn themselves inside and out; some of the stories here are about the ravages of religion and others about the ravages of flame and still others about, let's say, the burn scars left by some iterations of religion.

My parents named me Hannah after the woman in the Bible. Hannah / the woman who weeps and will not eat. The woman who disappears / from the story after she gives birth to a son. Hannah the woman who / prays so the priest cannot hear, her lips moving without sound. He / thinks she is drunk. (58)

The collection draws heavily on references and inspiration, some of which I can catch and others of which will be easter eggs for, say, readers who have a better knowledge of the Bible than I do. But I think this is one that will speak to a lot of readers: language complex enough to require some thought, but with themes more and more in the news and relevant to so many people. Some of the poems toward the end especially started to lose me (I like poetry—well, some poetry—but I freely admit that I am no kind of expert, and sometimes I can't quite muddle through), but it hit the mark between readable and tricky more often than not, and when the book ended I found myself sorry that there weren't just a few more pages to turn.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.