Witch

by Rebecca Tamás

WITCH by Rebecca Tamás is a raw, strange book of poems that merges feminist exploration with occult expression and ecological language. At turns lyrical, philosophical and obscene, Tamáss astonishing debut evokes the sexual prowess of nature as an organism that swallows and consumes. These are poems that unsettle the reader, taking them to dark, magical places where earth and blood, politics and pornography, intermingle; they celebrate poetry as a small, bright, filthy song.

Genres: Poetry, Feminism, Witches, Witchcraft, LGBT, Occult, Queer

120 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 2019

Reviews

[Gerasimos Reads]

Witches and feminism. Oh, how original. Rupi Kaur is crying in a corner she now has to scrap her own collection of feminist witch poems because this was published first.

But let's assume for a second that the witch/feminism trope hasn't been done to death already, can at least Tamas surprise us by reinventing it? Errr, no. Most of her witch imagery draws from the same pool of inspiration (pentagrams, goat sacrifices, the devil, Sabrina the teenage witch is edgy tm, Lilith is misunderstood boo hoo). What about witches from other cultures or 70s horror technicolor movies or other mythologies or something? I mean come on, even Lana Del Rey does it better.

The most disappointing thing about the collection though is how Tamas's brand of feminism is steeped in second wave faux feminist ideologies that leave no room for women of colour or trans women. News flash: not all women menstruate.

Closing thoughts: I enjoy poems that give me something even with a first reading and most of these poems gave me nothing. Some of them were so vague and impenetrable that they weren't helped by even a second or third reading, to the point that I started wondering whether their vague nature was intentional, or just an attempt to cover up that there was no meaning there at all.

[Helen McClory]

Like sifting ash and finding all kinds of strange things within it, some alive, some gold, some bone

[Katie Long]

Raw, fierce, and angry but also empowering. I still have a lot to unpack with this one, like why the character of the Witch reminded me so much of Ted Hughes’ Crow, but I look forward to rereading and digging deeper into this incredible collection.

[That Boy - V]

To write good poetry, one has to read a lot of bad poetry.

This book is helping me on my way to writing good poetry.

While others call it the sexy feminist bible, I’d call it a vulgar and childish train of thought about a cliché.

Two straight lines of “aaaaa” do not a poem make and the “witchy” imagery is lackluster.

The new-aged romanticism of Lilith as a misunderstood goddess also makes an appearance.

Definitely not my taste.

I bought this for 8£, if I didn’t knew the poems in it I would pay 4£ for it and if I knew the poems in it I probably wouldn’t buy it.

Do I like the cover? Yes
Will I take aesthetics pictures with it? Probably
Will I actually sit down and read this again? No

Update 06.01.2021

I threw the book away

[Lauren James]

Queer, witchy poetry with a visceral, dark tone. I ate this up.

[Goodreeds User]

this is a fuckin THUNDERSTORM - everything swirls around and curdles and bursts out violently - it's explosive and violent and thrilling and sexy and dark - there's so much happening at once, there's this constant low rumbling cloud of ideas and vibes and frequent lucid flashes - a really exhilarating and refreshing read, definitely one I'll come back to again and again

[Heather]

Challenging, weird, feminist, time-hopping, conceptual, brilliant poetry.

[Kirsty]

One of my books of the year, without doubt. I read it over many months as I wanted to savour each poem. I wish I could tattoo it on my heart.

[Anna]

I really liked parts of this but wasn't taken with the whole thing. Idk. Some of it was a bit meh. I was really hyped about it and I didn't like it as much as I hoped I would.

[Téa Nicolae]

raw! vulgar! esoteric! visceral! adored!

[Danny]

This knocked my socks off!!!

[Ariel]

Savage feminist poetry

[Bea]

In theory, Witch sounded interesting because of the themes it explores surrounding gender and sexuality. In reality, Tamás’ style just isn’t for me (that said, I’m going to read some Kae Tempest soon so we’ll see what I think of that).

[Tamara (notvibing on storygraph)]

To be fair, I'm absolutely stumped when it comes to rating this Witch because this poetry kind of defies description for me.
On the cover it is described as sexy, frightening, cerebral and strange and yes, it is all of that and more.
Using the story of a witch and witches in general to talk about so many topics is a wonderful idea, and how this book is split into spells and other witch poems is so intriguing. These two kinds of poems have a very different kind of feel to them. The witch poems have more of a narrative, they tell a story and they really sucked me in. The spells are weirder, feel more like rituals and glimpses into the brain of a witch and I won't pretend to understand all of them but I still enjoyed reading them immensely.
Witch is mystical, intriguing, natural, vulgar, sexual and one of a kind. And I think I want more of that.

[Lorna]

I found some of the poems in this collection very difficult to understand, however others I found so powerful and I adored them so, so much that I would still rate it highly overall! My favourites were probably Penis Hex, the Witch and the Suffragette, Witch Scold, Witch Earth, Witch City, Witch Mars and Witch Volcano. I loved the recurring exploration of history being quote ‘old and gross’ (hehe) through the oppression of marginalised peoples, capitalism, war and climate change, and the potential of the witch, women, and those society has historically deemed as ‘outsiders’ to create positive political change in the future.

[BetweenLinesAndLife]

This was a pretty mixed bag for me. I can see it being an objectively good collection, I liked how it has this thematic thread throughout the collections and certain motives are picked up again, but not many poems really clicked with me.

My favorite one was "Witch City"

Other Poems I enjoyed:
-Witch and the Devil
-Spell for Exile
-Spell for Nietzsche's Horse
-Spell for Reality
-Spell for agency

[Hannah]

— 2.5 stars —

This wasn’t required reading for university but I decided to pick it up anyways! The premise is interesting and focuses just as heavily on witchcraft as I expected. However, I didn’t connect to the poems as much as I wanted.

I will still be recommending this collection to the right person.

[Serge ♆ Neptune]

So much witchy goodness in here and so many favourites, Interrogation (1), Witch and the Devil, Witch Europe, spell for sex, Witch Trials, spell for Lilith, spell for the witch's hammer, Witch Knowing (gorgeous!!!) and Witch After. The more I read these poems the more wonderful details I discover.

[J.lilley]

It's rare that I read a book of poetry from cover to cover in one sitting, but I did this one, and will read it again and again. Loved it.

[Matthew Little]

Rebecca Tamás's WITCH oozes disturbing wordplay superimposed over feminist imagery that mingles intensely with the occult.

[Kelly (kellyinbookland)]

2.5 stars

It’s day 1 of Sealey challenge and also August 1st which is Lughnasadh. As a witch myself, I had to pick this collection of poetry to read first.

I wish I loved this one more than I actually did. I felt the anger and raw emotion in some of the poems but in others it just wasn’t for me and didn’t work as well as the others.

Highlights for me were and ones I loved. Witch and the Suffragettes, spell for reality, witch trial, witch fire, spell for agency.

[Nicola Everett]

A really great collection (unsurprising!) Perfect for a late night nosy with Kate Bush blaring in the background and my hair wild and uncombed.

I’ve read a fair bit of Rebecca recently and so far I’ve been a fan of everything I’ve gotten my paws on so looking to reading more of her stuff soon!

[Tobias]

For a long time I had the feeling that I don't get these poems. But then I felt them on a word for word level and on a line for line level, and for that, even though I still don't get these poems as a whole, I think that I get them.

[Beyza Çalışkan]

"Lilith, take us back with you"

[sofia]

1.5

[charlotte c-r.]

this was cryptic and nonsensical for no reason

[jessica]

2.5 Stars ✨

[Eilidh Fyfe]

poets just love talking about tongues

[maria 𓂃۶ৎ]

unoriginal and mediocre

[Adele]

I.. did not enjoy this one bit. One day I will find a good poetry book but not today.