Hiding Bones: The Best Poetry From Hiding Skeletons And Literary Bones

by Holly Ducarte

Hiding Bones is a compilation of Holly Ducarte's best poetry from her retired chapbooks Hiding Skeletons and Literary Bones. One of which, she won an indie award for. It's a storytelling blend of light and dark themes with classic and contemporary styles.

101 pages, Paperback

Published May 9, 2017

About the author

Holly is the author of soulful poetry and meaningful creative fiction stories with atmospheric settings and complex, relatable characters.

Her works have been published as paperbacks, hard covers, e-books, showcased in magazines, newspapers, various online sites, and highly applauded over Wattpad. To date, she's received two poetry awards and a nomination for an award in literature for Black Worm; a short story.

Holly is an old soul with plenty more tales to tell.
Aside from the author life, she enjoys the comfort of a good book, shopping in antique stores, junk journaling, watercolour painting, meeting other writers and readers on Instagram, going for walks outside, spending time with loved ones, binging fave movies and tv shows, a variety of music, shameless dancing, good food with tea or coffee, and growing in the Christian faith.

Holly currently resides in a modest lake town with her husband, daughter, and two cats by the names of Lulu and Dela.

Reviews

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how great of a judge I am when it comes to poetry. For me, as just a reader/observer, poetry seems very personal--almost like a free flow of thoughts about one's emotions/ideas so I'm not entirely sure it's up for judgement.
Also, I don't think I'd know *good* poetry from *bad* poetry. Is there such classifications? Again, I'm new to this arena.
However, that being said, I know what I like. I know what I enjoy and I very much enjoyed Holly's poetry book, Hiding Bones.
Broken down into themes:
Love
Life
Mystery
Nature
I loved Love & Mystery poems the most. They really spoke to me. Specifically, "Whiskey and Wine" and the poem, "Dillinger" reminded me of a love story from the show Peaky Blinders! So I really loved that one.
In the section of Life, I liked the poem "Pomegranate Seeds" and the picture.
I loved all the poems in the Mystery section, notably "Itchmark", "My Belle" and "Robotic Anatomy"
Overall, this was a beautiful book that appears to be a glimpse into the author's soul--so I read it with care and respect. I hope Holly keeps writing!

[Sarina Langer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I'll shock anyone if I admit that I don't usually read poetry? Ducarte's poetry caught my attention on Instagram where she posts short poems and snippets sometimes, so I wanted to give this a go.

I do find it harder to review, because every poem stands by itself. They're all short, and I couldn't read more than one or two poems at a time; not because they weren't good, but just because I wanted to appreciate each poem properly, rather than jumping into the next one right away. Reading one after the other--or reading the whole book in one go--felt a bit like devaluing the individual poems. This isn't a book that wants to be rushed. It's a book that wants you to take your time with it.

I find it hard to share excerpts for the same reason. It's odd to only share four lines of a longer poem, because the words are supposed to make one whole. It's not like sharing a line from a novel, which can shine on its own. The words in Hiding Bones belong together.

Hiding Bones goes perfectly with your morning tea or when you're waiting for your train to arrive.

Ducarte has a beautiful way with words, and her talent shines in her poetry.

My favourites were definitely the darker poems. I adored The Mirror, Wretched Things, Mad Alice, Nimble Jack, and Wolf <3

I'm not saying I'm converted to poetry, but I will keep an eye out for more of Ducarte's! Hiding Bones was a lovely little introduction for me, and I look forward to whatever she writes next.

[Holly Ducarte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always found it hard to rate my own book. But what’s an author to do but try to promote it the best way they can. This book is a compilation of my early poems. They are a mixture of classic style poetry and contemporary. Some rhyme, others don’t. The themes are as eclectic as I am, and often the inspiration to write these poems came at random. Be it while I was travelling somewhere, or as simple as a piece of music that sparked a thought, or a dream that required I write it down to be remembered. In any case, I hope you enjoy the journey each one takes you on.

[SJ]

Definitely not the collection for me