The Girl
by Donna Vorreyer
Vorreyer’s The Girl is sharp and clear from the dedication: “To all the girls I have taught. To all the girls we once were.” These small prose poems are strung together like a chain of dolls cut from steel, each stronger for her connection to the other, but capable of claiming her own ground—each poem is a portrait of a girl, nameless. Each girl moves beyond that designation, none are just a girl, and their anonymity does not strip identity or agency. These are girls who stand where they will, treat their own wounds, heal broken things, fear little or nothing, persist in spite of, because of—”If she cries, she opens a window, knows her ghosts need a means of escape.” (Porkbelly Press, 2017)
16 pages
inkjet cover
open edition
Additional Info
EXCERPT
Anachronistic
A girl in a blue coat stops mid-stride in the center of a crosswalk. She stops with one foot on the blacktop, the other on a painted white stripe. Cars beseech her with horns and curses. Rain falls around her, but doesn’t soak her. Puddles form at her feet, ripples widening. She remains. Officers arrive. They go near, but do not dare touch her. Something tells them this, although they are large and she is small, and they could so easily carry her. She does not move. Her parents arrive, their voices pleading then angry. After an hour, they leave, shaking their heads. Traffic flows around her now. It is dark, and the headlights spot her face, a mask of delight, looking at the sky. The next morning, her parents return, then the priest with his holy water and his hope. She does not even flinch as it splashes her face.
ABOUT THE POET
Donna Vorreyer is the author of Every Love Story is an Apocalypse Story (Sundress Publications, 2016) and A House of Many Windows (Sundress Publications, 2013) as well as seven chapbooks, most recently Encantado, a collaboration with artist Matt Kish from Redbird Chapbooks and Tinder, Smolder, Bones, and Snow forthcoming from dancing girl press. She serves as the reviews editor for Stirring: A Literary Collection and teaches middle school in the suburbs of Chicago.
COVER ARTIST
Alexandra Eldridge, born of artist parents, received her BA in Art and literature at Ohio University. She co-founded an establishment for the arts, Golgonooza, based upon the philosophies of William Blake. She has had over 40 solo shows, and has participated in many group shows throughout the U.S. as well as many international exhibitions.
OTHER BOOKS
Tinder, Smolder, Bones, and Snow (dancing girl press, 2016)
Every Love Story is an Apocalypse Story (Sundress Publications, 2016)
Encantado (Red Bird Chapbooks, 2015) collaborative with artist Matt Kish
A House of Many Windows (Sundress Publications, 2013)
REVIEWS
Amorak Huey reviews The Girl at Glass Poetry's blog.