In this beautiful homage to Emily Dickinson, Elisabeth Horan tackles many of the same themes Dickinson did -- lust, hope, pain, loss, and death, to name a few. Horan welcomes the reader not just into her world, but also her mind and uses structure and punctuation to create order where there is chaos. "Odd list Odd house Odd me" is a powerful collection that pulls at the heart and mind as darkness and unabashed sensuality ensnare the senses, challenging boundaries and perceptions.
Review :
"Elisabeth Horan's Odd List, Odd House, Odd Me is a splendid example of how to write a homage to a great writer, in this case, Emily Dickinson. Rather than working in the poet's "common measure" hymnal form, and attempting to write mere stylistic knock-offs, Horan instead plays lightly with other devices commonly utilized by Dickinson. Such devices include Dickinson's unorthodox use of the em-dash, her often surprising conversion of common- to proper nouns, and her terse turns of phrase. Yet, none of these devices are used in excess, leaving ample room for Horan to allow her own voice to shine through, as she takes on the great themes of Womanhood, Love, and Death. Stand out pieces include--but are certainly not limited to--"Blood on Snow," "Barren--not of Words," "At Night when I am alone," "Not Sovereign," and "At the grave of your death, I smile." In these poems and many others, Horan takes a reader with her on a journey where she unflinchingly explores her own inner landscape, and alternately wrestles with feelings of intense wistfulness, ardor, and loss. In so doing, the ambivalence Horan confronts in these poems is more often than not left unresolved, as is the case not only with great poetry, but even more so, with life itself. With that in mind, this collection exemplifies how a contemporary poet can place one's self under the tutelage of a canonized poet, and create a work of art that is rife with the spirit of a recognized great, yet simultaneously very unique, strangely beautiful, and wholly personal in nature. As such, I cannot recommend enough this fine collection of verse."
Johnny Longfellow,
Editor of Midnight Lane Boutique
