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Once Upon A Childhood
I always liked the Grimm fairy tales. The darkness and the horror and the truth of them appealed to me.
So often, the real monsters in those stories are the parents. Hansel and Gretel, abandoned to starve in the forest. Donkeyskin, with the King's horrific lust for his daughter.
I lived those stories. I knew that the monsters were real, and that my father was the most terrifying monster of them all.
Living in the monster's lair was 18 years of terror and pain and isolation. The scars on my body, the scars in my heart, are a dot to dot constellation of unrelenting loss and fear.
We outgrow fairy tales as we get older. They lose their immediacy and ability to terrify.
For some of us, though, they still loom large. There are wolves. There are monsters. They're family.
So often, the real monsters in those stories are the parents. Hansel and Gretel, abandoned to starve in the forest. Donkeyskin, with the King's horrific lust for his daughter.
I lived those stories. I knew that the monsters were real, and that my father was the most terrifying monster of them all.
Living in the monster's lair was 18 years of terror and pain and isolation. The scars on my body, the scars in my heart, are a dot to dot constellation of unrelenting loss and fear.
We outgrow fairy tales as we get older. They lose their immediacy and ability to terrify.
For some of us, though, they still loom large. There are wolves. There are monsters. They're family.
24 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 26, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 25, 2015
“You never wanted a daughter…” – powerful poems from word one
I now have two books of Gwyndyn Alexander’s poetry, and I have been deeply impressed with her writing. These poems are not easy to read, not easy to sit with, and certainly not easy to think about. But please do – read, and sit, and think. For me, with a somewhat similar background in some regard, that is precisely the point – taking out the horror, and the pain, and the tears, and offering them to us for our own. Sometimes with anger, sometimes with sadness, but always with a clarity and a vision that reminds me of some of my favorite poets. If you haven’t, you must read Gwyndyn Alexander.
http://www.matthewejackson.com/book-r...
I now have two books of Gwyndyn Alexander’s poetry, and I have been deeply impressed with her writing. These poems are not easy to read, not easy to sit with, and certainly not easy to think about. But please do – read, and sit, and think. For me, with a somewhat similar background in some regard, that is precisely the point – taking out the horror, and the pain, and the tears, and offering them to us for our own. Sometimes with anger, sometimes with sadness, but always with a clarity and a vision that reminds me of some of my favorite poets. If you haven’t, you must read Gwyndyn Alexander.
http://www.matthewejackson.com/book-r...
March 9, 2015
These words, these words, these words....are nothing short of powerful and invoking. These injustices have been beautifully crafted into poetry based on fairytales. I felt sad and angered for all children who have experienced and are experiencing these atrocities. It makes you want to fight for these children. Honestly, this book took me through an emotional whirlwind. I think that is the mark of good poetry. Even though these poems are dark I think that they offer a release, closure and healing for those effected.
September 5, 2016
Dark but heartfelt poetry -- definitely worth a read!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews