Amazon.com: Take What You Want (9781882295623): Henrietta Goodman: Books

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007

The earthy, intelligent poems in this compelling debut employ elements of fairy tale, dream, and animal life to reveal little-addressed aspects of familial and sexual love and of motherhood, bringing sharply into focus the often inexplicable ties of one individual to another.

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The earthy, intelligent poems in this compelling debut employ elements of fairy tale, dream, and animal life to reveal little-addressed aspects of familial and sexual love and of motherhood, bringing sharply into focus the often inexplicable ties of one individual to another.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Henrietta Goodman’s debut rivets with its accuracy, honesty and fluency. These poems have tonal ranges necessary for the complexities Goodman tackles, sometimes tames, more often allows to remain feral and wild. At times the poems read as if they were urgent instructions hell-bent on keeping us alive. Take What You Want isn’t shy about giving us a lot of what we need.”—Dara Wier

"These well-crafted poems are reminiscent of Anne Sexton's Transformations; readers will look forward to witnessing the transformations to come in Goodman's future work."—Library Journal

"If I think of forerunners to this collection, I am immediately reminded of Sylvia Plath’s zero to the bone accuracy . . . the visceral immediacy of her poetry makes Goodman Plath’s heir . . . reading and rereading Take What You Want, I felt as if I was being told privileged secrets as old and as necessary as the first stories and the first tellers themselves."—Iron Horse Literary Review

"Take What You Want is all about generosity, 'including' us, via startling images and vibrant language, by involving us in the world view of a distinct speaker—daughter, mother, citizen, partner—as existence and imagination force her to ask questions, some answerable, some simply—and, in these poems, beautifully—survived."—Christopher Davis

About the Author

Henrietta Goodman has received an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Montana Arts Council and the Marjorie Davis Boyden Wilderness Writing Residency. Her poems have appeared in Mid-American Review, North Carolina Literary Review, Hubbub, Northwest Review, and other journals. Originally from North Carolina, she currently teaches at the Writing Center at the University of Montana.

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