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Trilogy: wife:widow:witch
48 pages, Paperback
Published October 19, 2025
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November 30, 2025
Katie Jenkins' poetry lives up to the promise of the collection's wonderful title.
The first poem 'Deathwatch' warns of estrangement and barrenness, of a home and a partnership being eaten away by time - with death and extinction looming from the very beginning. Yet despite that there is a persistence in the natural world that comforts the poet and reader, the life force that demands we hang on.
'Penetrating Damp' is the bleakest of the wife section, the decay of the house is a harbinger of a coming death, that seems sought after.
'Her allotment', with its intentional fiery destruction of all the living things, seems like the final suicide of the spirit of 'wife' but also, in some ways, perhaps of that woman behind the wife (since allotments are often places of private refuge and contemplation).
'Contranyms', with its play on the double meaning of many words, particularly 'cleave', warns us the widow is very close now - finishing with the wonderful: "Some words know what we won't admit: within the one thing lurks its opposite."
widow is the exploration of the effect of death and grief.
'Deathbed' kicks off with the father and husband who has died minutes before and we get this wonderful movement:
"...He lay his head on your still-warm chest, forcing air
from your parted mouth, your slackened jaw, a final snore. I turned steel. Heat-blasted ore."
though widow is more about the effect of grief delayed whilst holding it together as Mother until one day, the widow says: "It folds me into the pavement".
witch starts with 'Elemental", playing with the changeling nature and alchemy of a young person becoming and fizzing with promise and resurgent sexual energy:
"Then let the rain come. I've time for one last explosion".
'Red shoes' is particularly powerful, with this really extraordinary imagery:
"my feet are match-tips
blood red phosphorus
striking the ground
burning me away"
Bravo Katie, virtuoso. The wife, widow & witch has connected to the spirit of Plath.
The first poem 'Deathwatch' warns of estrangement and barrenness, of a home and a partnership being eaten away by time - with death and extinction looming from the very beginning. Yet despite that there is a persistence in the natural world that comforts the poet and reader, the life force that demands we hang on.
'Penetrating Damp' is the bleakest of the wife section, the decay of the house is a harbinger of a coming death, that seems sought after.
'Her allotment', with its intentional fiery destruction of all the living things, seems like the final suicide of the spirit of 'wife' but also, in some ways, perhaps of that woman behind the wife (since allotments are often places of private refuge and contemplation).
'Contranyms', with its play on the double meaning of many words, particularly 'cleave', warns us the widow is very close now - finishing with the wonderful: "Some words know what we won't admit: within the one thing lurks its opposite."
widow is the exploration of the effect of death and grief.
'Deathbed' kicks off with the father and husband who has died minutes before and we get this wonderful movement:
"...He lay his head on your still-warm chest, forcing air
from your parted mouth, your slackened jaw, a final snore. I turned steel. Heat-blasted ore."
though widow is more about the effect of grief delayed whilst holding it together as Mother until one day, the widow says: "It folds me into the pavement".
witch starts with 'Elemental", playing with the changeling nature and alchemy of a young person becoming and fizzing with promise and resurgent sexual energy:
"Then let the rain come. I've time for one last explosion".
'Red shoes' is particularly powerful, with this really extraordinary imagery:
"my feet are match-tips
blood red phosphorus
striking the ground
burning me away"
Bravo Katie, virtuoso. The wife, widow & witch has connected to the spirit of Plath.
Displaying 1 of 1 review