Oracle

February 16, 2015
Marvin (Fragment of the Head of a Queen) has produced a collection—her third—of spectral, charged poems: a wild, ferocious bunch capable of emotional darkness, bound by a strong poetic I. As Marvin writes, “If the town had one huge umbrella, we might all join/ to carry it above us together. But there is no together.” This realization provides the freedom to explore different angles on tragedy, loss, and vulnerability, with Marvin weaving vivid, uncanny lines amid narrative, confessional poems that attempt to shed light on various forms of violence (physical, sexual, emotional) against women. The goal is virtuous, even if some of the poems fall flat in the process. Still, it’s a successful call to arms, an urgent plea to express the self in the midst of constant hurt and tragedy. Poetry, with its crucially intangible value, is the weapon of choice. “What am I coming to poetry for?” she asks herself. “Make something no one can use that/ no one wants. Don’t ask why. It builds character.” This character building, perhaps, is the best possible response to a violent and challenging universe. And of course, she pulls no punches: “We need more cold sores, need more of what you/ won’t give us; give us some true ugliness.”

March 15, 2015

In this follow-up to Fragment of the Head of a Queen, Kate Tufts Discovery Award winner Marvin offers recognizable scenes while writing dense, emotionally thick verse that will challenge some readers. The poems pulse with urgency ("Glasses forever itch in/ cupboards to be filled with wine as mouths in dark/ plot to be kissed), anger ("Walking very quickly makes it quite impossible/ To note the lousy perfection of stars"), aggression ("I was meaner than a flimsy dollar the change machine/ refuses"), a spooky capturing of the moment ("Then the tarry hot of the parking/ lot rose up, black, promising me any boy's face bent to crack/ against my face that was becoming a face"), and bitter--or perhaps cynical--despair ("If the town had one huge umbrella, we might all join/ to carry it above us together. But there is no together"). Taken individually, these moments can be powerfully affecting; taken together, they can drown out one another or sometimes not quite work. VERDICT An intriguing, emotionally biting, sometimes overwritten work that's not wholly successful but will interest serious readers of poetry. --Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.