Stories have the power to free us, or to hold us captive. Imagine a Woman is a book about both, and how the retelling of stories we inherit can open a pathway between fear and survival. Organized around four feminine archetypes–the Virgin, the Mother, the Prophet, and the Whore–these poems offer a multi-storied perspective on the many ways a woman is defined, and how femininity is shaped by histories ancient and new. Offering new ways to devote ourselves to the myths, nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and playground songs that captivate our memories and inspire our futures, the collection ignites a sharp and stirring transformation from being silenced to learning how to speak.
In its pursuit of truth combined with an odd and wild lyric sway, in its invoking of the oldest myths and tales, and in its trust in personal dreams and prophecies, Dorothy Neagle’s transformative book lives up to its title. These poems burn with imagination and feel as revelatory to the reader as they feel necessary to the poet. Drawing on poetic strategies from incantation to confessionalism, this book proves that “like every great / and terrible thing, the silence also has / a voice.” In Imagine a Woman we witness that voice emerge and catch fire.
This is a collection born of woman; of mother; of daughter; of darkness and of light. It takes us by the hand and leads us to ancient, unseen places. We are shown what if means to long and belong; to lose and love; to let go and to hold on, as if our life depended on our grasp. The ancient, folkloric nature of these poems allows us to contemplate death, life, familial grief and inter generational trauma as though they were small, easy things. I am richer for having spent time with its pages.
An invitation to savor mystery and clarity. A fierce and generous statement on motherhood, girlhood and personhood that cools and burns. The blood and bones in these poems pulse and break. And the heart beats on.
Neagle asks the reader to imagine a woman as a whole being–not just the sum parts society expects and demands; or the overwrought idea of what a woman has always been made to be in the patriarchal strongholds of language. These poems ring true as a bell.
Meet the Author
Dorothy Neagle was born and raised in South Central Kentucky, in the westernmost county in Appalachia. A Yaddo fellow and Pushcart Prize nominee, her poetry and essays have appeared in many journals and anthologies. She lives with her family in New York.
