Wed, Jul 23, 7 - 8:30pm
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Join us as we read "Helen of Troy, 1993," our first foray into narrative poetry!
Helen of Troy, 1993: Poems
Title
Helen of Troy, 1993: Poems
Price
$18.00
Restocking
*Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2025 by Debutiful* "By turns hilarious and provocative, it's an affecting character study and modern mythic retelling." --Publishers Weekly, Books That Should Be on Your Radar in 2025 Part myth retelling, part character study, this sharp, visceral debut poetry collection reimagines Helen of Troy from Homer's Iliad as a disgruntled housewife in 1990s Tennessee. In the hills of Sparta, Tennessee, during the early nineties, Helen decides to break free from the life that stifles her: marriage, motherhood, the monotonous duties of a Southern housewife. But leaving isn't the same thing as staying gone... Rooted in a lush natural landscape, this stunning poetry collection explores Helen's isolation and rebellion as her expansive personality clashes with the social rigidity of her small town. In richly layered poems with settings that range from football games to Chuck E. Cheese to the bathroom of a Motel 6, Helen enters adulthood as a disaffected homemaker grasping for agency. She marries the wrong man, gives birth to a child she is not ready to parent, and embarks on an affair that throws her life into chaos. But she never surrenders ownership of her story or her choices, insisting to the reader: "if you never owned a bone-sharp biography... / i don't want to hear it. i want you silent. / i want you listening to me." Blurring the line between mythology and modernity, Helen of Troy, 1993 is an unforgettable collection that shows the Homeric Helen like she's never been seen before.
SKU
9781668046333
Helen of Troy, 1993: Poems
$18.00
Restocking
Description
*Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2025 by Debutiful* "By turns hilarious and provocative, it's an affecting character study and modern mythic retelling." --Publishers Weekly, Books That Should Be on Your Radar in 2025 Part myth retelling, part character study, this sharp, visceral debut poetry collection reimagines Helen of Troy from Homer's Iliad as a disgruntled housewife in 1990s Tennessee. In the hills of Sparta, Tennessee, during the early nineties, Helen decides to break free from the life that stifles her: marriage, motherhood, the monotonous duties of a Southern housewife. But leaving isn't the same thing as staying gone... Rooted in a lush natural landscape, this stunning poetry collection explores Helen's isolation and rebellion as her expansive personality clashes with the social rigidity of her small town. In richly layered poems with settings that range from football games to Chuck E. Cheese to the bathroom of a Motel 6, Helen enters adulthood as a disaffected homemaker grasping for agency. She marries the wrong man, gives birth to a child she is not ready to parent, and embarks on an affair that throws her life into chaos. But she never surrenders ownership of her story or her choices, insisting to the reader: "if you never owned a bone-sharp biography... / i don't want to hear it. i want you silent. / i want you listening to me." Blurring the line between mythology and modernity, Helen of Troy, 1993 is an unforgettable collection that shows the Homeric Helen like she's never been seen before.
Description
*Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2025 by Debutiful* "By turns hilarious and provocative, it's an affecting character study and modern mythic retelling." --Publishers Weekly, Books That Should Be on Your Radar in 2025 Part myth retelling, part character study, this sharp, visceral debut poetry collection reimagines Helen of Troy from Homer's Iliad as a disgruntled housewife in 1990s Tennessee. In the hills of Sparta, Tennessee, during the early nineties, Helen decides to break free from the life that stifles her: marriage, motherhood, the monotonous duties of a Southern housewife. But leaving isn't the same thing as staying gone... Rooted in a lush natural landscape, this stunning poetry collection explores Helen's isolation and rebellion as her expansive personality clashes with the social rigidity of her small town. In richly layered poems with settings that range from football games to Chuck E. Cheese to the bathroom of a Motel 6, Helen enters adulthood as a disaffected homemaker grasping for agency. She marries the wrong man, gives birth to a child she is not ready to parent, and embarks on an affair that throws her life into chaos. But she never surrenders ownership of her story or her choices, insisting to the reader: "if you never owned a bone-sharp biography... / i don't want to hear it. i want you silent. / i want you listening to me." Blurring the line between mythology and modernity, Helen of Troy, 1993 is an unforgettable collection that shows the Homeric Helen like she's never been seen before.
ISBN
9781668046333
Publisher
Publication Date
January 14, 2025
Binding
Paperback
Item Condition
New
Language
English
Pages
96
Keywords
Poetry | American | General; Poetry | Women Authors; Poetry | Subjects & Themes | Places
Show QR Code
False
RSVP Event
Off