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Composition of a Woman by [Christine Ray, Kindra Austin, Georgia Park]

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Christine E. Ray

Composition of a Woman Kindle Edition

by Christine Ray (Author), Kindra Austin (Editor), Georgia Park (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition

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Christine E. Ray's award-winning debut poetry collection Composition of a Woman has been rereleased by Indie Blu(e) Publishing with 36 stunning new pieces of poetry and prose. Originally released in 2018 and awarded a Bronze Medal from the Readers Favorites Book Awards, Composition has been described as “an extraordinary glimpse into the essence of what it takes to make, and sometimes simultaneously break, a woman as strikingly powerful as she is beautiful.” Split into five sections (Nerve, Brain, Breast, Rib, and Blood), Ray writes about chronic illness, depression, love, loss, and identity. “The ingenious anatomical structure remains, with Ray taking us on a journey through her experience of physical and mental health, love, loss and being a warrior, feminist and advocate for many. The new pieces fit in seamlessly with the story Ray had begun to tell from the collection’s first release. . .”-Kristiana Reed, Between The Trees"Poet Christine Ray's first printed collection of poetry Composition of a Woman . . . is a striking, fearless foray into the psyche of womanhood, both highly relatable and intensely personal for female readers and achingly candid and fascinating for male." -Candice Louisa Daquin, Pinch the Lock "Christine Ray brilliantly split Composition into five thoughtful sections that work together beautifully to deliver the maximum impact of each poem while taking the reader deeper into a stunning journey of the mind, the body, the very soul of this person. In Composition, Christine Ray reveals so much of what we try to hide, and she does so while dancing between ruthlessly beautiful and heartbreakingly painful." -Nicole Lyons, I Am A World Of Uncertainties Disguised As a Girl

Print length

212 pages
Language

English
Publication date

September 23, 2019
File size

450 KB
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Editorial Reviews

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"The ingenious anatomical structure remains, with Ray taking us on a journey through her experience of physical and mental health, love, loss and being a warrior, feminist and advocate for many. The new pieces fit in seamlessly with the story Ray had begun to tell from the collection's first release. . ."

-Kristiana Reed, Between The Trees

"Poet Christine Ray's first printed collection of poetry Composition of a Woman . . . is a striking, fearless foray into the psyche of womanhood, both highly relatable and intensely personal for female readers and achingly candid and fascinating for male."

-Candice Louisa Daquin, Pinch the Lock

"Christine Ray brilliantly split Composition into five thoughtful sections that work together beautifully to deliver the maximum impact of each poem while taking the reader deeper into a stunning journey of the mind, the body, the very soul of this person. In Composition, Christine Ray reveals so much of what we try to hide, and she does so while dancing between ruthlessly beautiful and heartbreakingly painful."

-Nicole Lyons, I Am A World Of Uncertainties Disguised As a Girl

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07YB8SC6L
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Indie Blu(e) Publishing (September 23, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 23, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 450 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 212 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1732800073
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #2,299,071 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,122 in Poetry About Death
- #2,886 in Women's Poetry
- #3,784 in Death, Grief & Loss Poetry (Books)

Customer Reviews:
14 ratings

About the author

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Christine E. Ray

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Christine E. Ray is an indie author and freelance editor who lives outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An avid writer of fiction and poetry in her teens and 20’s, Christine returned to creative writing after a long hiatus in 2016 when she launched her blog Brave and Reckless on WordPress. Christine's greatest literary influences include Sylvia Plath, John Steinbeck, Jane Austen, and J.K. Rowling. While other little girls dreamed of being a princess, Christine dreamed of being Sarah Jane Smith. She is still waiting for the Doctor to arrive.

She’s a member of the Sudden Denouement Literary Collective, Blood Into Ink, Go Dog Cafe, and Whisper and the Roar. In 2018, Christine founded Indie Blu(e) Publishing with writer Kindra M. Austin.

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Melody Lee

Christine Ray's powerhouse of a poetic voice will not fade away anytime soon.

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2018

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I sat in bed today and read Composition of a Woman from start to finish. I literally could not let go of this book. I savored every damn poem. I tasted her tears; I felt her anguish, her grief, her triumph; I heard Christine Ray's voice ("I am done whispering." p.123), and it is a beautifully powerful one; it is a voice that will not fade away anytime soon. Ray has a brilliant ability to weave humor into her poetry, while conveying a powerhouse message. 'Wonder Woman' comes to mind. I've read that poem three times now, and each time I smile a little bit more! Ray's poetry will stick to my ribs and flow through my veins. She has charmed me with her fierce “warrior” “badass” voice and I am hooked. "I see you/yes, you poet/you who lives behind the misty veil/dwelling in the border/between this world/and a hundred other/shadow worlds..." An excerpt from her exquisite 'Poet's Love Song.' And this from 'Loss is an Ocean' -- "how many empty shapes have been etched on my soul like shadow like negatives of photographs from those who have been torn away from this world from my life by the raging tides?" If you are a poetry lover this book absolutely needs to be on your bookshelf. If you are not poetry lover, you just may become one after reading Ray's Composition of a Woman. It is certainly a book that won't be forgotten! ~Melody Lee

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Stephen Fuller

Read this book and learn about your humanity.

Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2019

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Poet’s Love Song drew me into a world I am forever grateful to be a part of, the world of a woman named Christine Ray. A world that is honest and frank, that speaks to our common humanity at the same time it tells us how we are different, but that within those differences we can now live with empathy and compassion. Our journeys are different, true. What defines my tale is unique to me. But individual moments of my experience mirror those of others out there and remind me of the fundamental humility required to live a whole, honest life. Christine teaches us this with her writing. All of us have had parts of our bodies that have failed us and set us on fire in the presence of another; hearts that have loved and been broken. Some of us choose to explain these experiences with this mysterious process called poetry. We choose to put our experiences into words that might go unread, but for those of us who read them and take the words out of the voice of the author and dare to mix them inside the voices in their own head we are truly rewarded by the experience of reading Composition of a Woman. I am not a woman. I cannot know what that experience is like. But I am human, and when Christine writes about her experiences they connect to the common human experience and when you get that piece, you can read her poems about being a woman with greater compassion. I cannot know what that experience is like, but I know what it is like to hurt and be hurt, to feel lonely and to feel wanted, to wonder if there is any point at all. After reading Composition of a Woman, I can look with respect on the women’s experience in the world and acknowledge the pain and the loneliness, the lusts and the passions as they are as human as my own, just very different. Those differences matter, A LOT, but so do the samenesses matter. Christine teaches us this with this beautiful book of poetry with the words of my favorite poem of hers:

“I see you… and you are beautiful.”

Isn’t that what we all want? To be seen as who we are, whole and beautiful?

Read this book. It is brilliant.

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Cybrmaus

Authenticity throughout

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2019

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What struck me about this book was the title was spot on about the content within. The beautifully written poems gave me so much depth and a feeling of knowing her without having met her. I admire her strength and humanity in the pieces "I Am" and "On Becoming a Poet". She took me on a journey into her being. I liked that, a lot.

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2019

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I must admit I didn't completely understand a lot of the poems and the imagery but there's no denying this collection was beautiful. There are also trigger warnings and other things.

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2019

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I adored the words in this book. The flow and beauty of the authors craft was a delightful read. Just beautiful.

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Stephanie Bennett-Henry

Amazing

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2018

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One of my favorites. I highly recommend this for every bookshelf. Beautifully written.

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2018

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A lovely collection. Christine's voice is honest, insightful, and empowering!

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Tres Hermanas

An intoxicatng banquet of truths for the poetry lover who seeks something real

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2018

And what an extraordinary woman Christine Ray turned out to be and she's only really started ....
For those who seek the real deal in poetry, it still exists, though of course like anything rare and unspoiled you cannot pluck it from the typical main stream tree but must work for it. Christine Ray pours herself into this collection of her poetry without fear, she doesn't edit back her truth, she lets it fill the sea and drown her before being reborn as a woman who will not quit. If you are one who still reads poetry at bedtime and finds within it, the true language of our existence then I recommend this beyond most collections for its sheer audacious need to be real and say it. For years women have been silenced by themselves and others and society en mass. Christine Ray proves a woman's will and her substance will carry her through the worst of times and she leaves with her art, the beginning of a new movement of women, composing themselves again in the shadow of their suffering and the dawn of a new day. Sublime. Cannot recommend more highly.

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MST

Blood and belly-fire!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2018

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Since beginning Brave and Reckless in 2016, becoming a member of several collectives, a founder member of Indie Blu(e) and establishing herself as an editor, Christine E. Ray's presence on Wordpress and online has been keenly felt. It comes as a surprise then that Composition of a Woman is her debut poetry release. However, every single page proves it was worth the wait.

 Ray's patience, passion and growth are revealed the further she pulls you into this book. Her approach to a structure which resembles her anatomy is ingenious and comes to reflect the woman, writer, editor and powerhouse she is.

 Nerve is a hilarious and moving ode, if you will, to invisible illness. For me, it meant this book was personal too. I've watched my own mother struggle with a spinal condition which isn't obvious to a stranger. Therefore, my first thought when I heard Ray's experience with pain and mis-diagnosis was 'I need to give this book to Mum', so she knows she isn't alone.

 Brain, no doubt deliberately, made me think. Safekeeping felt all too familiar and the final lines of Brilliant Madness made me consider the peril of an artist and their pain. Often art and pain feel mutually exclusive. At times we wonder where we begin and end.

 'jagged little pharma sitting on the kitchen table that may save my life but steal this brilliant madness'

 Ray continues to speak to the soul in Breast, with absolutely beautiful pieces like The Attic Room, Amen and Saturday Afternoon Poetry. From hilarity and darkness, we are given sensual and love sick. We begin to understand the myriad of experiences which shape a woman.

 One of those experiences is heartache and heartbreak as Ray shares the pain behind her Rib. Chasing Sandcastles, Memento and the forlorn sigh inducing I Say That I Lost You.

 'I say that I lost you as though you were an umbrella that I carelessly left on the bus after the summer rain had stopped.'

 Ray does what every excellent poet must. She writes from experience and yet writes your story as well. 

That said, it is the closing section of this book which left me breathless. Blood is a testament to all that has gone before. Each body part and experience led to this denouement; this showcase of a woman. I know her now - her pain, suffering, love and loss - which is why Wonder Woman is filled with clarity. Ray is a woman conducting an orchestra while openly admitting she isn't perfect. There is dazzling beauty in her ability to lift your spirit and reach beyond the book, calling for your blood and belly fire.
 Needless to say, I read this in one sitting and finished it smiling. The final two poems resonate with every writer and reveal how much this book means to Ray; how it truly was, worth the wait.

S. K.

Top Poetry

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 29, 2018

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Christine's debut book of poetry is home to such a strong and diverse collection of poems, that it's easy to recommend this to others. I've been following her work for some time now, and am more than pleased to see her heading in this direction. There's so much on offer here, and so much to show you of what is yet to come.

iram arif

Not worth money.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2018

Verified Purchase

So disappointed, it hardly felt empowering or inspirational. Nor did I see language talk about the female body differently.

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