Enter Here: Poems

by Alexis Rhone Fancher

The latest collection of poems by award-winning author and photographer Alexis Rhone Fancher.

“Lust, longing, urban noir, and the emotional ravages and physical heat that colliding souls can’t help making, are all artfully packed into these lyrical narratives by a poet who refuses to hold back” (Michelle Bitting, poet and author of The Couple Who Fell to Earth).

“Alexis Rhone Fancher is not merely a detailed chronicler of our socio-physical interactions—she is by far the most exciting, articulate, and convincing storyteller in contemporary verse” (Gerald Locklin, poet and fiction author of 100+ books).

Genres: Poetry

114 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2017

About the author

Alexis Rhone Fancher’s poem, “when I turned fourteen, my mother’s sister took me to lunch and said:” was chosen by Edward Hirsch for inclusion in The Best American Poetry of 2016. Her poetry has been published in over thirty anthologies and chapbooks, both in the U.S. and abroad, and her photographs have been published worldwide.

Alexis is poetry editor of Cultural Weekly, where she also publishes "The Poet’s Eye," a monthly photo essay about Los Angeles. Since 2013, Alexis has been nominated for eleven Pushcart Prizes, one Best Short Fiction award, and four Best of the Net awards. She and her husband live and collaborate in a loft/studio space in downtown Los Angeles. They have a spectacular view.

Reviews

[Ace Boggess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enter Here is such a marvelous collection of poems that I had to read it twice. Immediately. It's at times erotic and disturbing, insightful and nostalgic. The poems delve into relationships, good and bad, as well as sex lives of the narrators that can be described as anything but routine.

The language of these poems burns the eyes, as with this stanza from "Tonight We Will Bloom for One Night Only":

"I've surrendered to your heady sweat of primrose, plumeria,
addicted to your outstretched arms of night-blooming jasmine,
my heliotrope buds hard and wanting, reeking of Madagascar vanilla
with its accompanying moral ambiguity."

Fancher takes her readers on a journey from adolescent conversations about sex through adult reflections on experiences beautiful, intense, and sometimes frightening. Reading this book is like reading the secret diary found hidden in a locked dresser drawer. It tantalizes, compels the reader forward, then stuns with its honesty and boldness. It would make a perfect companion piece to read with Bob Hikok's Sex & Love &, another collection that speaks openly and directly about the ups and downs of what happens in relationships. All in all, it's one of the better collections I've picked up this year.

[Janet Karam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way Alexis Rhone Fancher leads you immediately into each of her finely crafted poems. There is momentum and energy in her writing that keeps you engaged. These poems are erotic, courageous sometimes even humorous in a playfully dark way. This is the third of her books that I've purchased. I'm hooked by the way she reveals power through her stories. Rhone Fancher's deeply authentic writing style makes her poems blazingly real.

[Dan Hostetler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw, painful, authentic depth that I've not encountered from the printed word. Very anima and exposed as though to cause me to despair with my inability to protect someone I've never met. Everywoman.

[Roderick Bates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexis Rhone Fancher is a gifted poet. To say that she is in the tradition of Charles Bukowski is an oversimplification; she is light years beyond Bukowski in her writing skills and in her insights into her own life and, by extension, all of our lives.