Erou

by Maya Phillips

Maya Phillips’ stunning debut collection Erou borrows the framework of the traditional Greek epic to interrogate the inner workings of a present-day nuclear family and the role of a patriarch whose life, marriage, and death are imagined as a sort of hero’s journey. Her poems move seamlessly between the worlds of the living and the dead, between myth and reality in a journey that raises its own Homeric What is home and how do we locate our place within that home? These are poems of passion and compassion in their reconciliation with what cannot be changed—but can be understood—by those who have been left behind.

Genres: Poetry

124 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2019

Reviews

[James Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I particularly like poetry and novels which make modern characters rhyme with classical characters and themes. Erou by Maya Phillips does it beautifully in a volume of linked poems which imagines a man of today embarked on a modern Odyssey through a city ending in the River Styx. He's a transit worker in touch with a mortgage, cars, and morning commutes but nevertheless is a hero touched by the gods and tragic adventures of an earlier age.

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erou is a collection of poems about myth, family, loss, grief, infidelity, and survival.

from January 3, 2015: "1 heartbeat, / gone dumb, 1 hearse, / 3 limos, 52 / roses for the grave, / no cake, no / celebration, but candles, / 52 candles, these / 52 small fired, 1 / body, 1 wooden / box: kindling."

from Ode to My Father's Failed Heart: "You limp / at last call to the dance floor, / but feel no shame / in your offbeat two-step, / your eleventh-hour shuffle / in a dead man's shoes."

from Losing His Cool: "wants to be / nudged by his buddies into a dive bar / buzzed with life and women, just like when they did / when he was young and unstoppable, / stupid without consequences, nothing / to his name but a comb, some bus fare, and / a whole lotta back-talk."

[Donald Glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erou was an interesting, imaginative read. Ms. Phillips used her creative, authentic voice to forge a new path for herself while paying homage to the writers of Greek classics. She lets readers into the intimate details of her family's relationships in a manner that renders them counselors in a therapy session. The session benefits the reader as much as the writer.

[Allie Richter · Rating 3 out of 5]

an overall pretty good collection of poems. Loved the connection to her personal journey of grief and the use of Greek mythology

[Gabriela Reitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes poetry is too much for me but this is good