Crowned

by Ellen Hagan

"In Crowned, each poem is 'a whole universe of body slapping and song.' The poems swagger into the party. They are loud, swarthy, tender, beautiful things-real and gorgeous without pretense. Ellen Hagan is a poet we can trust. With soul and accountability and the earned knowledge of one who has seen the world, Hagan deftly reminds us of the worth of our own bodies, of our roots, of home." - Karen Harryman, author of Auto Mechanic's Daughter "Like a port town, Ellen Hagan's Crowned is a landscape of intersections. & this landscape houses comings & goings, loss & desire, the infinite pleasures & breakings of the body. Every thing touches every thing as she moves us, deftly, from asphalt to bluegrass, from Facebook to Katrina, from bourbon to Latin church prayers found on the inside of her mother's shoe-box before surgery. She disallows us the comfort or disillusion of distance but, instead, works for a brave reckoning with the past & present. To me, these poems cousin the poems of both Audre Lorde & Kim sometimes they leave you splintered, sometimes they leave you saved. It's as if Hagan has lowered her stethoscope down into the matter of things & asked it to speak. These poems are what the stethoscope said." - Aracelis Girmay, author of TEETH Ellen Hagan lives in New York City, where she earned her MFA from The New School. She is a member of the Affrilachian Poets and Conjwomen, and she is a co-founder of the girlstory collective. Crowned is her debut collection of poetry.

Genres: Poetry

110 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Ellen Hagan is a writer, performer, and educator. Her books include: Crowned, Hemisphere, Watch Us Rise, a YA collaboration with Renée Watson, Blooming Fiascoes, Reckless, Glorious, Girl, Don’t Call Me a Hurricane and All That Shines. She has a new YA project forthcoming in 2025 with her partner David Flores. Ellen's poems and essays can be found in Oprah Magazine, ESPNW, So We Can Know: Writers of Color on Pregnancy, Loss, Abortion, and Birth (edited by Aracelis Girmay), Creative Nonfiction, Underwired Magazine, She Walks in Beauty (edited by Caroline Kennedy), Huizache, Small Batch, and Southern Sin. Ellen's performance work has been showcased at The New York International Fringe and Los Angeles Women's Theater Festival. She is the recipient of the 2020 New York Foundation for the Arts fellowing in poetry, the 2013 NoMAA Creative Arts Grant and received grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts. National arts residencies include The Hopscotch House in Louisville, Kentucky and Louisiana Arts Works. Ellen is Head of the Poetry & Theatre Departments at the DreamYard Project and directs their International Poetry Exchange Program with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia. She is on faculty in the low residency MFA program at Spalding University and co-leads the Alice Hoffman Young Writer's Retreat at Adelphi University. A proud Kentucky writer, Ellen is a member of the Affrilachian Poets, Conjure Women, and is co-founder of the girlstory collective. She lives with her partner and children in New York City.

Reviews

[Bobbi Rightmyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was first introduced to the work of Kentucky writer, Ellen Hagan, when my daughter had her as a creative writing teacher during the Governor's School of the Arts 2009. Hagan's words bleed off the pages and each one has a deliberate bite that makes you stand up and take notice.

Born and raised in Bardstown, Kentucky, this talented poet now resides in New York City. CROWNED is her debut collection of poetry and will be available January 28, 2009.

This slim volume is a powerful collection of poems spanning Hagan's life from birth to the present. One of my favorites is "Baby" - it is a painful look at the range of emotions a daughter can put a mother through. Being the mother of three grown daughters, this one struck me square in the heart.
"At one I made my mom exquisite ..."
In "Reign" she also gives the reader a raw look at a little girl becoming a woman - again, something I have copious experience with.
"A new luxury of woman, a new thing to own."
"IV" details how a life can change in an instance.
"I am different than I was five months ago."
Heartbreak can lead to an alien range of emotions you never thought you would feel.

Not all of her poems take on a personal tone, several actually touch on pop culture as in "Dear Chris Brown" and "Dis-Missle" (dedicated to Sarah Palin). She uses powerful words to sharpen her point and drive the meaning home.

Hagan is passionate when writing about the loves of her life, especially when writing about her mom. Many of the entries revolve around her maternal parent and the love oozes off the pages.

Hagan's writing is fearless and clear, truthful to a fault. She has done what many writers can never achieve in a lifetime - taken an imperfect life full of splinters and defects and turned it into a life changing experience. If you love raw, candid poetry, CROWNED is a book you should not miss.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really couldn't get into any of this. Placing this compilation in comparison to every other poem in history would be tragically unfair for Ms. Hagan, so my star rating is her poetry in relation to her peers. Mediocre idea, poorly executed.

[Alison · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had its moments–a few lines here and there grabbed me. But overall, not impressed.