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Unquiet Stars
Unquiet Stars is the ninth collection from Rhysling Award-winning speculative poet Ann K. Schwader. These poems of somber brilliance are equally magisterial as metrical formalism or as free verse. Complex and hypnotic, Schwader’s work leads us down—or out—into ancient darknesses that touch us where we live.
81 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2021
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About the author
Ann K. Schwader
87 books109 followersWyoming native relocated to suburban Colorado. Writer of speculative poetry, dark fiction, Lovecraftian fiction & poetry, dark-themed science fiction, & haiku. Bram Stoker Award finalist (2010) for poetry collection, Wild Hunt of the Stars. Bram Stoker Award finalist (2015) for poetry collection, Dark Energies. Rhysling Award winner (2010) for Short Poem, & co-winner for Long Poem (2015). Science Fiction Poetry Association Grand Master (2018) . Member: HWA, SFWA, SFPA, HSA.
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LiveJournal: Yaddith Times
http://ankh_hpl.livejournal.com/
Dreamwidth: Yaddith Times
https://ankh-hpl.dreamwidth.org/
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 2, 2021
"No power, now, & yet this music holds
a power all its own against the dark…"
"Victrola (at the end of the world)"
This, the 8th collection of Ann K. Schwader's poetry, has a sombre tone. In the rhythms of villanelle and sonnet, and even sterner arrangements of words across the page, she evokes displaced souls and exiled gods, a patient apocalypse and that which gapes at the centre of all things.
Schwader's work concerns the crumbling edges of humanity, a littoral of death, myth and madness that is always within arm's reach, whether you stand in Machu Pichu or a suburban backyard. In "The Dark Reclaims Us", she dubs us the "unnatural children of the sun". More unnatural children are portrayed in the sonnet sequence, Faces from the House of Pain, drawn from H. G. Well's The Island of Dr Moreau. Others linger in the dark corners of the world, as "Stone Ghosts" or "Children of the Stone", the victims of cosmic processes but dimly understood, plastered over by religion with its own cruelties, its entirely human horrors.
Defiance is available. There are ferocious reclamations here, of power and name. We encounter the wolves concealed by Vestals' robes and vampires masquerading as saints. The double-doomed Asenath arises, confounding the assumptions of those around her. But humanity's ultimate fate awaits in the lightless void of space or the abysmal depths of the ocean, the gaping maw of Ammut.
The beauty of language laced with wit and irony, the perfection of structure, the potency of image, all mark this out as the work of a poet at her very peak. Schwader triumphantly achieves the complete integration of content and form, verses whose complexity slips almost unnoticed past the reader hypnotised by her vision, beguiled by her voice. I know it's dark, she tells us, but come this way and mind the steps. For all the doom and sifting dust, there is compassion here, a reminder of the choices we do have in life and the difference they can make to others. This music holds power indeed.
a power all its own against the dark…"
"Victrola (at the end of the world)"
This, the 8th collection of Ann K. Schwader's poetry, has a sombre tone. In the rhythms of villanelle and sonnet, and even sterner arrangements of words across the page, she evokes displaced souls and exiled gods, a patient apocalypse and that which gapes at the centre of all things.
Schwader's work concerns the crumbling edges of humanity, a littoral of death, myth and madness that is always within arm's reach, whether you stand in Machu Pichu or a suburban backyard. In "The Dark Reclaims Us", she dubs us the "unnatural children of the sun". More unnatural children are portrayed in the sonnet sequence, Faces from the House of Pain, drawn from H. G. Well's The Island of Dr Moreau. Others linger in the dark corners of the world, as "Stone Ghosts" or "Children of the Stone", the victims of cosmic processes but dimly understood, plastered over by religion with its own cruelties, its entirely human horrors.
Defiance is available. There are ferocious reclamations here, of power and name. We encounter the wolves concealed by Vestals' robes and vampires masquerading as saints. The double-doomed Asenath arises, confounding the assumptions of those around her. But humanity's ultimate fate awaits in the lightless void of space or the abysmal depths of the ocean, the gaping maw of Ammut.
The beauty of language laced with wit and irony, the perfection of structure, the potency of image, all mark this out as the work of a poet at her very peak. Schwader triumphantly achieves the complete integration of content and form, verses whose complexity slips almost unnoticed past the reader hypnotised by her vision, beguiled by her voice. I know it's dark, she tells us, but come this way and mind the steps. For all the doom and sifting dust, there is compassion here, a reminder of the choices we do have in life and the difference they can make to others. This music holds power indeed.
May 11, 2025
this was a lovely read. I first discover Ann K. Schwader's poems in "Spectral Realms." My first dip into Weird Poetry and darker forms of poetry.
Schwader's poems jump out for me. For the poems themes where focused on MesoAmerican mythology. I have a huge interest in Aztec and Maya mythology and in hieroglyphs writing systems, so those poems just spoken to me.
all the poems in this collection are great. I did have a few how jumped out above the rest. To name a few:
"Star-Tide", "Under the Plumed Serpent's Temple", "Deep Winter Skies", "Temple of the Plumed Serpent", "Dark Hearts", "Stranger Tides", "Last Ascent".
I'll be getting more of her poetry collections in the future. "Twisted in Dreams" and "Dark Energies" are high on my wishlist.
Schwader's poems jump out for me. For the poems themes where focused on MesoAmerican mythology. I have a huge interest in Aztec and Maya mythology and in hieroglyphs writing systems, so those poems just spoken to me.
all the poems in this collection are great. I did have a few how jumped out above the rest. To name a few:
"Star-Tide", "Under the Plumed Serpent's Temple", "Deep Winter Skies", "Temple of the Plumed Serpent", "Dark Hearts", "Stranger Tides", "Last Ascent".
I'll be getting more of her poetry collections in the future. "Twisted in Dreams" and "Dark Energies" are high on my wishlist.
April 7, 2023
Creeping dread
I was enraptured by this collection of poetry about such diverse topics as The Island of Dr. Moreau, Lovecraftian mythos, world mythology, and climate change to name a few. There is a creeping dread in many of the poems and a simple, visceral beauty to her verse. I definitely recommend this.
I was enraptured by this collection of poetry about such diverse topics as The Island of Dr. Moreau, Lovecraftian mythos, world mythology, and climate change to name a few. There is a creeping dread in many of the poems and a simple, visceral beauty to her verse. I definitely recommend this.
February 28, 2023
First book of poetry read through completely. I really enjoyed it. The themes, imagery, and language were really well done. I learned a lot, increased my TBR, and believe I will come back to this again in the future.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews