But She Is Also Jane

by Laura Read

Conversational, irreverent, and disarmingly honest, the poems of But She Is Also Jane follow the everyday contours of women’s lives and the expectations they grapple with. As our speaker approaches middle age, she copes with the loss of loved ones, the realities of an emptying nest, the routine indignities of sexism, and nostalgia for the past. Laura Read’s third poetry collection balances discussions of Degas, Vermeer, and Marie Curie with reflections on Sammy Hagar, a troubling outing to a male revue, and memories of watching Mork and Mindy on the night of her mother’s hysterectomy.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2023

Reviews

[Emily Migliazzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Self aware without shame.


“…Yesterday I went to the planetarium / where I learned I get dizzy when I look // too long at the stars, at least the fake stars/ which are moving faster than the real stars do…”(45).

“But I live inside a series of circles,/ so many you might not see me at first,/ or think it’s my story at all” (52).

[Allison Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this disarming book of poems. Frank, vulnerable, artful. "Yesterday I wondered why everyone is always writing/about how wild they were or were not in the brief years/before they weren't."

[Ashley (Peak) Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this collection on my maternity leave as a first time mother…many aloud to my baby girl (if I may digress, “it still works”). These poignant poems about womanhood made an isolating time feel less lonely. Each poem is achingly universal yet searingly specific. They were beautiful and rich and wise and funny. One of my favorite lines…”I am so talented at telling myself what is true / and then believing it that I can shock myself” (42).

[Sara Shocks · Rating 5 out of 5]

favorites: "The Milkmaid," "Jane Doe 1-9," "In the same way we misunderstand the child ballerinas of Degas," "Deer are the obvious stand-ins for the dead," "Clever Dress," Phallagocentric," "Marie Curie and the Isotopes, World Tour, 1911"

[Christopher Parkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Her best yet.

[Taylor Franson-Thiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely collection. Had a few great moments. A few predictable ones. Overall a good time.

[Mal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love her writing style