Trigger Warning

by Maria Takolander

From award-winning and highly acclaimed author and poet Maria Takolander comes her most impressive and personal poetry collection yet. Trigger Warning is not for the fainthearted, but neither are the elemental realities of domestic violence and environmental catastrophe that these astonishing poems address. Comprised of three sections, the first summons a difficult personal history by conversing with poets—from Sylvia Plath to Anne Carson— whose dramatised confessions trigger Takolander’s own. The second part remains focused on the domestic, while redeeming that scene of trauma through a reinventing wit. The final section of this extraordinary book turns its attention outside, playing with poetry itself in order to confront the Anthropocene and the final frontier of death. This is poetry that balances ruthlessness and lyrical beauty; poetry alive to its time and audience; poetry not to be missed.

Genres: Poetry

112 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2021

About the author

Maria Takolander was born in Melbourne in 1973 to Finnish parents. She is the author of three previous poetry collections, including Ghostly Subjects (Salt, 2009), which was shortlisted for the Judith Wright Calanthe Award. Her poetry appeared regularly in The Best Australian Poems and The Best Australian Poetry, and it has been widely anthologised nationally and internationally, including in Thirty Australian Poets (UQP, 2011). A program about Maria’s poetry aired on Radio National in 2015, and she has performed her poetry on ABC TV and at numerous festivals, including the 2017 Medellín International Poetry Festival in Colombia. She won the inaugural Australian Book Review Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize, and her short-story collection The Double (Text, 2013) was shortlisted for The Melbourne Prize for Literature Best Writing Award. Maria’s words can also be found on bronze plaques in the Geelong CBD and at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.

Reviews

[Rosemary Atwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding collection that plays with language and form at every turn.

[Tamara]

In October this year, I completed a workshop with Queensland Poetry called Reviewing & Critiquing Poetry. After completing the workshop, I realised so much of what I read and write here on Goodreads isn't a critique, it's an opinion.

In saying that, I won't claim that this review of Trigger Warning will be a critique, but something that has stuck with me since that workshop has been the idea that you should look at poetry—or fiction, or whatever media you are reviewing/consuming—not as how you wanted it to be, but rather, what was it trying to achieve?

This collection is split into three distinct parts. Part one, Confessions, was undoubtedly my favourite. The poems in this section are confessional in nature and are in conversation with other poets. I loved these poems. I could have read a whole collection with poems just like this and it would have been a lifetime favourite.

This is where reviewing the collection for what it was trying to achieve, rather than how you wanted it to be, comes into play.

Part two, Domestic, was a series of poems on everyday items, animals, things, etc. I didn't love many poems in this part, but I can say that Takolander really skillfully used language, imagery, and structure here, and the standard didn't drop the entire collection.

Part three, Outside, was my second favourite part, and I could read a collection musing on this theme as well. I loved the scope, and how experimental this section was.

I won't lie, Trigger Warning wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but I honestly think Takolander achieved what they set out to achieve, and they did it really skillfully. Trigger Warning left me feeling inspired to write, and tbh, that's a sign of a good collection for me.

[Sarah]

"Bodies are programmed for betrayal;
they are casts for our corpses" (14).

Takolander's poetry is often clincial and lyrical at the same time. She stirs emotion with careful descriptions of grief and trauma in this collection. In section one "Confessions" - each poem is addressed as a letter, as a reader you feel her bleeding herself out onto the page.

Within "Domestic", Takolander moves into more visceral language. You can feel the competitiveness of nature vs machinery as she questions the future and its links into her grief.

"Let us be distracted; let us be rational.
Whatever you do, avoid getting sidetracked
by poetry" (39).

Takolander almost begs her readers to live and to experiment as she concludes her collection with "Outside." The poetry here is unlike the rest of the collection, playing with the environment further and experimenting with form.

[Brigitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was recently recommended Takolander's essay 'Lessons learned from literature' and instantly fell in love with her writing style, so I ran down to my local and picked up her new collection 'Trigger Warning'. I was not disappointed! Trigger Warning has instantly become a favourite of mine, I don't remember the last time I was so moved by poetry. I adore her use of language and how she transports the reader. I don't give 5 stars out easily, but I found this collection to be truly profound and thought provoking. It gave me cause to pull back from the work and question, and reflect. All while I got lost in the beautiful language choices and evocative imagery.

I loved the pace of the collection, finding new gems in each section. Some of my absolute stands outs are: Walking in the Blue, Knife, Curtains, 2. Bio-Robots, and finally Night: A Personal History *chefs kiss*

I look forward now to tearing through Takolander's back catalog.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting collection, Takolander has an interesting way of playing with words and language that is sometimes not obvious straight away. Divided into three parts, Confessions, Domestic and Outside, the poems of Maria Takolander circle around general themes of conversations, objects and the wider world.

While I found some of the works to be deeply moving, there were others that felt a bit empty to me and others whose deeper context eluded me. As a whole it was the collection whose themes revolved around everyday objects that prompted extra thought, while it was a couple of works that referred to Chernobyl that struck chords.

who will sew up the tear in the fabric of the world?

[Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of poetry that engages intertextually with the work of other poets but also showcases Takolander's own distinctive approach.

[♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think i wanted this to be absolutely Soul crushing but i actually didn’t comprehend most of it

[lou garciadolnik · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredible :O

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how to review poetry.
This is worth reading.
My favourite was What was invisible now becomes visible