Inherent by Lucia Orellana Damacela is an evocative collection of poems examining a life through childhood to motherhood where all stages seem cemented by poignant and significant memories beautifully and delicately expressed in some intense and touching poems. The italics in the title are no accident and the subtle play on words hints of the deeper intent. It’s very much a suite of poems from the female perspective.
The poet’s Ecuadorean roots are expressed and explored in vibrant verse that allows us to vicariously experience an environment hitherto unknown to most of us. With a word or two we are treated to a sensory experience -
‘Melt a lime candy
under the sun’s tongue
hyphenate kisses
interlock shadows.
Grab the sunset by it’s colours
— drips from an orgasmic orange
wipe it from mouths
Preserve the thirst.’
Subliminally intertwined is the love and bond with the natural world and the natural landscape, especially the sea. The subjectivity of poetry rules sublime and some of these verses touched me more deeply than others. Those that explore the enduring paradox of life. In the Ink-Carved Rusty Path for example the poet observes
‘with oxygen that gives life
and oxygen that corrodes
in every stroke.’
Rain Noir is an exquisite homage to that substance that has been in much abundance lately! Housekeeping is another favourite where emotions and states are compared to every day tasks. Something Borrowed - a poet’s expression of genetics!
‘ I don’t have my mothers eyebrows;
I’m just passing them along.‘
It’s a cohesive group of poems that describe life - the highs and the lows, beautifully observed, beautifully expressed.
Not uncommon to see comparisons of a work of fiction offered in reviews. Comparisons perhaps with other books in a similar genre or style, or other authors. Not so common in poetry I think. Because poets tend to have such a unique and stylised voice. But thematically one can look at collections of poems and see some comparisons that can both illuminate and enhance both pieces of work.
And so we come to another poet’s work - Medusa Retold by Sarah Wallis. On the surface it couldn’t be more different until you start to read and experience the parallels between these two books.
Medusa retold is the retelling of the Medusa legend from the perspective of a young girl called Nuala. It’s set in contemporary times yet the imagery of the original legend with Poseidon and the sea, Medusa’s hair punctuate the poem. Nuala is a feisty maverick who struggles to fit in and relate to people. In part she is defined by an incident that happened to her as a child and she is drawn to sea creatures and reptiles. When Nuala finally feels she’s met somebody she can relate to tragedy strikes. It sends Nuala on a downward spiral with devastating consequences. And Medusa like she is perceived as something of a wrong ‘un, misunderstood, with no one heeding her mute cries for help.
The poetry is direct, strong and you have a sense of anger bubbling beneath the consonants. Sometimes Nuala’s voice -
‘But I see a warning face staring in the mirror
and have to cover up the truth, can’t stand her staring
back at me with her snake tattoo rippling into muscle’
sometimes not -
‘....she becomes what she always had the potential to become
the Godhead, the steely-eyed Gorgon, the Medusa re-born’
I felt the poem followed the tradition of true epic, narrative poetry. A story is told of identity and rage where the emotion dominates the narrative. Female identity and female rage.
But, I hear you ask, what does any of this have to do with an expat Ecuadorian?! Well, I felt both books ooze with the spirit of the female. The woman striving to find and understand herself and her place in this often hostile world. The natural world, particularly the sea is important in both sets of poems. For Nuala the creatures are her comfort at times, yet the sea she revered is instrumental in fuelling her rage. Inherent sees the harmony of nature offering a peace and a catalyst for memory. In Inherent the poet is finding herself through the various stages of life we go through, childhood, motherhood, bereavement and so on whilst in Medusa Retold Nuala is looking for herself. There is a restrained peace in Inherent which contrasts with the tension and despair of Medusa Retold with its undercurrent of fury.
Two books - both alike in dignity to quote the bard, compelling, thought provoking and providing some literary entertainment for poetry lovers.
My thanks to Kayla Jenkins for offering me the opportunity to read, review and compare these two gifted chapbooks.
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