The title She Followed the Moon Back to Herself by Amanda Lovelace is the first poetry book I read cover to cover without stopping too long in between poems (just to catch my breath and not have poems bleed into each other) or jumping to the end to find out “what happens” in a while. Now, this is not to say OMG Best Book Ever, but there was something about it that was captivating.
This means I enjoyed it but was not blown away at the same time. It was interesting, not fun, but not unfun. It was a personal experience for me, and therefore, it will be a unique one for everyone else who reads. The poems have potential for some triggering events, but I also did not feel anything was overly explicit. Though, I’ll admit, I think I missed the triggers as I’m not really the “audience” for that and I’ve read a lot so if it is not “in my face” I can’t always tell what is going on with that. Though the Body Image things were fairly obvious, I just didn’t feel there was any “solid” to them. It was the butterfly not the caterpillar, and the butterfly isn’t always the most pretty or eye-catching of the two.
I did find that I was reading terribly quickly as each poem is short, but filled. When I couldn’t understand what was happening, I had to stop. But could go right back. None have a “continuation” theme (this section is “this idea”; section two is “this idea” and so forth) but all are mixed. The title line at the end could be a continuation of the poem, title, descriptor, all the above and a lot more.
The few illustrations are thoughtful and wonderful companions to the poetry. They are neither dark nor light, but have a heavier color tone to them. There are only a couple with people in them and I assume the ones that do are Lovelace herself. The majority of the images are the lunar moth you see on the cover. This green color is the most vibrant of the used colors, but that does not mean it is lacking in color.
The whole book is an art piece. The pages are one poem per page allowing for much in the way of borders, or white space. There are little details to dress it up, but it does not overwhelm the overall package. Perhaps things are a bit more “feminine presenting” in the quality of writing, themes and look, but it is not necessarily “girly.” I give it a four rating not because it ‘blew my mind,” but because there is an artistic quality that will really hit the right reader.
