Synopsis:
Mourning is the new black…
The tradition of Victorian mourning jewelry began with Queen Victoria after the death of her husband, Prince Albert. Without photography, mementos of personal remembrance were used to honor the dead so that their loved ones could commemorate their memory and keep their spirits close. Ashes were placed within rings, and necklaces were made out of hair, and the concept of death photography, small portraitures of the deceased, were often encased behind glass. Mourning jewelry became a fashion statement as much as a way to cope with grief, and as their pain evolved over the years, so did their jewelry.
But what about the sadness and the memories that they kept close to them at all times? The death-day visions and the reoccurring nightmares? Wytovich explores the horror that breeds inside of the lockets, the quiet terror that hides in the center of the rings. Her collection shows that mourning isn’t a temporary state of being, but rather a permanent sickness, an encompassing disease. Her women are alive and dead, lovers and ghosts. They live in worlds that we cannot see, but that we can feel at midnight, that we can explore at three a.m.
Wytovich shows us that there are hearts to shadows and pulses beneath the grave. To her, Mourning Jewelry isn’t something that you wear around your neck. It’s not fashion or a trend. It’s something that you carry inside of you, something that no matter how much it screams, that you can just can’t seem to let out.
Edition:
Paperback
My Thoughts:
Wow – another amazing collection of poetry from the folks over at Raw Dog Screaming Press. For something I didn’t know existed two weeks ago, National Poetry Month has worked out like gangbusters for me. Every book I’ve picked up has been gold. This one is no exception. I had intended to pick out a few favorite poems, and ended up marking out a large portion of the book.
My absolute favorites were:
Daddy’s Little Grave Digger
Death Has its Own Angels
Everyone’s Doing It
Falling, Rising into Love
Garden of Karma
Garlic Hangs Above Her Bed
Gravestones for Breakfast
Hide and Seek
Piece Her Back Together Again
Rosary Beads in Her Hair
Succubus
The Clock Strikes Scarlet
Until the Sun Comes Up
Seriously, this whole collection is incredibly good.
She wove roses around the cloves of garlic to help with the smell and to catch the blood that fell from the Christ imposter’s wounds.
Garlic Hangs Above Her Bed by Stephanie M. Wytovich, from Mourning Jewelry
Wytovich is a wonderful poet. This was my first experience with her work, but it certainly won’t be the last. I’m thinking I’ll pick up The Apocalyptic Mannequin next.
About the Author:
Stephanie M. Wytovich is an American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her work has been showcased in numerous venues such as Weird Tales, Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories, Fantastic Tales of Terror, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2, The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 8, as well as many others.
Wytovich is the Poetry Editor for Raw Dog Screaming Press, an adjunct at Western Connecticut State University, Southern New Hampshire University, and Point Park University, and a mentor with Crystal Lake Publishing. She is a member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, an active member of the Horror Writers Association, and a graduate of Seton Hill University’s MFA program for Writing Popular Fiction. Her Bram Stoker Award-winning poetry collection, Brothel, earned a home with Raw Dog Screaming Press alongside Hysteria: A Collection of Madness, Mourning Jewelry, An Exorcism of Angels, Sheet Music to My Acoustic Nightmare, and most recently, The Apocalyptic Mannequin. Her debut novel, The Eighth, is published with Dark Regions Press.
Follow Wytovich on her blog and on twitter @SWytovich.
Rating:
Mourning Jewelry By Stephanie M. Wytovich Raw Dog Screaming Press ISBN: 978-1-935738-63-3 Published: May 8th 2014 Paperback 120 Pages Publisher's Website
