In her debut collection, Stephanie Berger cracks the earth open and exposes the ""woman inside."" In a sequence of poems that present variations on the Western feminine archetype, Interior Femme visits many unique locales, from cemeteries in Brooklyn to canyons in New Mexico to churches in San Diego, Paris, and Peru. Berger approaches her subjects--mothers, goddesses, whores, daughters, muses, and movie stars--from multiple angles, and through her poems she reveals historical, personal, social, environmental, and artistic viewpoints.
The poems offer layered perspectives fused with multiple versions of female representation, as if to underscore the burden of responsibility, inherited shame, and awesome power that comes with the position women have occupied throughout history. Berger reveals a woman critically wounded--representing the totality of the Western feminine imaginary. Lyrically complex, sometimes surreal, and often ekphrastic in style and content, Interior Femme simultaneously offers heartbreak, laughter, comfort, and empowerment.
"The end isn't the point & yet it is indispensable."
This was lovely to read out loud, but I can't say I understood a great deal of it. It'll definitely require a second read. It reminded me of Richard Siken, which is a compliment.
Thank you, NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC!