The Trailhead

by Kerri Webster

"I'm learning to allow for visions," the primary speaker of The Trailhead announces, setting out through a landscape populated by swan-killers, war torturers, and kings. Much of the book takes place in the contemporary American West, and these poems reckon with the violence inherent in that history. A "conversion narrative" of sorts, the book examines the self as a "burned-over district," individual and cultural pain as a crucible in which the book's sibyls and spinsters are remade, transfigured. Sacralization/is when things become holy, also/when vertebrae fuse, the book tells us, pulling at the tensions between secular and sacred embodiment, exposing the essential difficulty of being a speaking woman. The collection arrives at a taut, gendered calling—a firm faith in the power and worth of the female voice—and a broader faith in poetry not as a vehicle of atonement or expiation, but as bulwark against our frailties and failings.

Genres: Poetry

76 pages, Hardcover

First published February 13, 2018

About the author

Kerri Webster received her MFA in Creative Writing from Indiana University, where she was a Lilly Fellow. Her work has appeared in such publications as the Antioch Review, Boston Review, Ploughshares, Pleiades, and VOLT. Her chapbook Rowing Through Fog was chosen by Carl Phillips in 2003 for publication by the Poetry Society of America. Her debut collection, We Do Not Eat Our Hearts Alone, was published in 2005 by University of Georgia Press. Her second chapbook, Psalm Project, is forthcoming from Albion Books. She has taught at Boise State University and has served as Visiting Writer-in-Residence at Washington University in St. Louis.

Reviews

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazingly good. I'm a sucker for Webster's combination of nature imagery, mythical allusion, and earthiness.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

With an impressive vocabulary and driving energy Webster plants her polished poems on the page. This is good reading so don't miss it. Webster and I were in the same writing class quite a few years ago, but I doubt if she remembers me.

[Melissa Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous

I loved this book. Energetic and evocative, Webster explores feminism and power and cultural/ societal issues through nature. The imagery is stunning.

[Lianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not possible to overstate how important this book is to me. Webster's humor is like a scalpel, her empathy a salve. Her syntax is bitchin' witchcraft. Her observations and questions are surprising and inciting and awesome (as in, they leave me trembling in awe). Each time I read or hear one of these poems, I learn SO MUCH. Hands down, Webster is my favorite poet, and this is my favorite book.

***
9/18/2019
Yes, I read this less than a month ago. And yes, it was necessary to read it again today.

[Maggie Koger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry faces up to the world with a strong voice, portrays strong characters in multiple setting. The spinster project would be enough to capture any reader fearing a disjointed view of life.