The 8th House

by Feng Sun Chen

Feng Sun Chen peels away the exterior of life's pink underbelly page by page in her second poetry collection, The 8th House, smelling the meaning in a mother's stew, carving light from holy grit, dissecting the surging waves of longing and love. These voices occupy the astrological 8th house, a house known for its healers and perversions, ruled by Pluto, where sex, death, and rebirth intersect and consume one another. Continuing to slice away at the distinctions between self and other, animal and human, male and female, the speaker of these poems "exposes by being exposed."

Genres: Poetry

93 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Leia Penina · Rating 5 out of 5]

there are not enough stars on here for feng sun chen.

[Carrie Lorig · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Emptiness must die"

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wild landscape, an adventure, part what you've come to expect from Black Ocean (perhaps with a bit more humor), and part Gurlesque. The 8th house, in astrology, governs transformations, death & rebirth & sexuality; it's ruled by grumpy former-planet Pluto (itself named for the god of death) and volatile Scorpio. Reading these poems, I could sometimes hear a clanging, like running through the lava in the Lost Izalith of Dark Souls, and at other times it was Alighieric--if that's a word--in the best way, an Inferno if perhaps not so regimented. The pages are covered with maggots and a few flies. It makes you feel the balloon-headedness of a cold in the best way. I'm sure I missed many references, and much of this flew over my head, but at least I know better than to try any mimicry of this work. The wordplay reminds of cummings in places, but in others creates a whole new language, best left to its creator to develop.

[Tiffany L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Necrophiliac.

[Mo · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an 8th houser I want to like it more than I actually do. Maybe I'll keep coming back to it and
I'll feel differently

[Edward Rathke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal and sometimes beautiful. I don't know how to compare it to most poetry or even her previous collection, but it's really something.

Definitely check it out, though you'll probably know by the first page whether you'll like it or not.

[Greg Bem · Rating 2 out of 5]

My head responded to waves as jagged as current, as calm as frustration, and there was a want for more, a knowing of epic, a chance deferred.

[Margarete Maneker · Rating 4 out of 5]

delightful, strange poems. more of this whole “women writing about taboo topics” thing i’ve been on. loved the maggot illustrations throughout!