by Bruce Boston
First published 2018
Mary Turzillo wields words like scalpels in this collection of thirty-seven poems that cut straight to the bone. Her verses examine the darkest corners of human nature, where passion bleeds into violence and tenderness transforms into cruelty. From mythological figures like Iphigenia to contemporary criminals, Turzillo captures all varieties of lovers and killers on her pages. She draws connections between botany and brutality, astronomy and obsession, revealing the sinews that bind different forms of human extremes. Twenty-five original poems join twelve previously published works in this surgical exploration of desire and destruction. Turzillo's razor-edged lines expose the nerves beneath familiar surfaces, showing readers that the lover and killer within each person occupy the same territory. Her speculative poetry spans cultures and centuries, weaving together European traditions, ancient Greek mythology, and North American perspectives into a single poetic universe where dragons coexist with physics and Shakespeare shares space with distant stars.
Genres: mythology, literary-fiction, poetry, dark-fantasy
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: dark-themes, psychological-elements
Setting: Europe, Greece, North America
Period: Mythological, Contemporary
74 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Content warnings: sexual-content, violence