Human Nature

by Alice Anderson (contributor)

"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

400 pages, Kindle Edition

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.