Invocabulary

by Gemma Files

Myths and fairytales, monsters and magic, dead gods and forgotten goddesses - these are the subjects that most often inspire Gemma Files’s third collection of speculative poetry. By running folk horror symbolism through the filter of contemporary language, she maps the shadow-side of fiction out with spells, curses, confessions, and prayers in an effort to show us how the stories we tell ourselves pull us headlong forward through history, illuminating all the most unsolvable central mysteries of human existence in words of both faith and fear.

Genres: Poetry, Horror, Mythology

83 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2018

About the author

Previously best-known as a film critic for Toronto's eye Weekly, teacher and screenwriter, Gemma Files first broke onto the international horror scene when her story "The Emperor's Old Bones" won the 1999 International Horror Guild award for Best Short Fiction. She is the author of two collections of short work (Kissing Carrion and The Worm in Every Heart) and two chapbooks of poetry (Bent Under Night and Dust Radio). Her Hexslinger Series trilogy is now complete: A Book of Tongues, A Rope of Thorns and A Tree of Bones, all available from ChiZine Publications.

Reviews

[T.D. Walker]

Gemma Files sets home and family against and within the mythic in her collection Invocabulary. The poems in this collection pull from a wide range of western mythologies, folktales, and later works, ranging from biblical figures and those from Greek and Nordic myths to Little Red Riding Hood and Golems which appear alongside poems that reference Lovecraft and Sweeney Todd. The variety makes for a deeper view into the themes of horror in the book, and it also makes the poignant moments more affecting. Among the strongest poems in the book are those that take a more contemporary voice, such as "The Black Telephone," "Onion Boy," and the wonderful "Build Your Own." For readers of speculative poetry or poetry that explores the relation of myth to how we see our present world, this is a worthwhile read.

[Billy Rubin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A moody, atmospheric collection of horror poems inspired by the gothic, myths, folk tales, and horror. As I find most collections, some stood above others. I really liked The Black Telephone in particular; reminded me of that old, heavy black telephone at my grandparents that still had its phone number partially in letters.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Tantalus, Reaching Upwards' is an astonishing piece of work. Wow.