Introduction by Catherynne M. Valente
134 pages
Published 2014
Read from July 20 to July 21
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
I’ve been in a writing drought. Since late 2022, I’ve written maybe three short stories and a handful of poems. That’s productive compared to, say, my average writing output between 2002 and 2020, but nowhere near where I want to be as a writer.
In particular, I’ve been wanting to write more fantasy poetry. I’ve been stuck partway through writing two separate full-length collections I hope to self-publish. Inspiration is needed. But it turns out there aren’t many lists recommending “must-read fantasy poetry collections,” even though I know plenty of titles have to be out there.
This book appeared on one of the few lists I managed to find, and I’m quite glad I was able to get a copy. These poems span from 1993 to 2012, and range from tightly ordered rhyme schemes to free verse. I don’t often rhyme in my poetry; I’m clumsy at it. More often than not, Goss makes it seem effortless, as if she merely retrieved songs that had drifted through the wood and along the stream since before the days of broadsides.
Dancers beckon from the oak wood; starlit phantoms bring temptation into bedrooms. Pale creatures lurk in secret pools and wait outside windows, all soft curves and coy glances until their teeth finally show. Arrogant young lords ignore warnings and ride to their doom. It’s all classic stuff, courtly imagery that would make Patricia A. McKillip proud, but told with gleams of malice that add a charm all Goss’s own.
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