Swallowing Jewels

About the Book

These are imaginative, evocative pieces, the author reveling in the semantic and stylistic possibilities of the English language. She is unconstrained by conventional forms, although her work remains both accessible and lucid; indeed, her work is marked by a strong literary vision and confidence of expression that brings further meaning to the work. Although it is very difficult to pick highlights from a collection as accomplished as this, I think the following passage illustrates some of the key elements of the author’s style and subject matter: Enormous, dark wood shining with a hidden secret. Rich cherry-red mahogany bark beckoned her with its treasure. The scrolls of ornament curled and uncurled into various shapes and forms—a grape vine, then a swallow-bird, then a deep pool that seemed to ripple when one held their head just so. Sheath stood before it, uttering the words of the unlocking spell. As this extract illustrates, the descriptions are at once striking and eloquently communicated, yet never descend into meaningless verbosity. The writing is intelligent and thoughtful and the author switches between subject matter, styles and forms with considerable grace.

About the Author

I wrote the bulk of this work during the years of 91-99. Those were the dark ages for me—every thought and emotion was devoured and encloaked in a stifling doom. My work thus took on this air of madness—words turning frenzied pirouettes inside my brain—which ached to set them free.

This book is dedicated to those who saw me through those dark times—and to those stars whose light shone so bright that it made even the heavens jealous— Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, Tanith Lee, William Blake, Samuel T. Coleridge, Wordsworth, and J. California Cooper.