Dog Woman

by Helen Quah

This startlingly original debut delves into the surreal, concealed moments of a young womanhood. Helen Quah’s voice is in part a deep-calling into the complex distances between mother and daughter, in part a twisted venture into the contradictions of romance. Dog Woman , named after the series of artworks by Paula Rego, contorts language, opening up a playfully dark and often humorous space of the fantastical and otherwise unexplained.

19 pages, Paperback

Published June 2, 2022

Reviews

[Jayant Kashyap]

As children, we’re often reminded that where, when and how it is we say a thing is what matters, and Helen Quah knows this well. On the surface, the following from p.4 is different from what it intends to do: “He hopes our daughter/ will inherit my good will.” On p.13, the narrator owes “the man on the corner three piglets.” These are poems with bright humour but also grief. Lots of grief, presented in a fashion not overdone in any manner.