Burials: Jessica Drake-Thomas
Reviewed By Jamie Goecker
In the last year or so, I’ve grown more interested in reading and writing poetry. I’ve read several collections so far, and I have to say that BURIALS is one of my favorites. When I’m reading a book of poetry, it often takes me multiple days to get through, but with this one, I read all of it in one sitting.
This collection is dripping with dark, delicious words about love, death, and revenge. There’s a lot more to it, but those are the main themes that stood out to me. The poems in this book have a gothic feel, and the author creates some strong imagery. I found these poems hauntingly beautiful. I also loved that there were author’s notes at the end, explaining the origin of several of the poems. Having that additional insight from the creator always heightens my enjoyment of a book.
I had a hard time narrowing down my selections for my Top 5 in this collection, but here they are:
-MINE
-THE POISONING
-POCKETFUL
-FAMINE AS A LOVER
-THIS IS HOW I BURY YOU
I’d also like to give honorable mentions to LOVE SPELL NUMBER ONE, LOVE SPELL NUMBER TWO, and LOVE SPELL NUMBER THREE. These three are linked by the same theme but do not appear in consecutive fashion within the collection. I loved all three and liked that they appeared in between the other poems.
I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more from this author. I’d love to read more of her poetry and would also be very interested in prose. If you’re a fan of dark poetry, add this to your TBR list.
Burials
What is buried can return. Those who are dead can still speak. A witch can be burned, but not silenced. When the abattoir is opened, the dead will rise. Burials is the narrative of those whose voices have been taken away-murdered women, witches, ghosts. It’s about speaking one’s truth, and using magic to heal or to banish, even from beyond the grave.
“Jessica Drake-Thomas has a wealth of knowledge of things you’ve only tasted in shadows. In this collection of gothic poetry, she opens her palms to let some of these dark whispers free into the night -the freedom of a shared language etching itself into the history of the world, to become legend. As things do when they die and are buried.
If you’ve ever heard the begging of the blood moon, pulling you from slumber to tiptoe through the darkness…if you’ve ever gnashed your teeth at a lover’s neck…you will find wisps of your own darkness among these pages.
With dark, romantic language, vengeful love spells, and the ghosts of old Salem wandering lost among the brittle paper, Burials is a haunting your soul won’t soon forget.”
You can buy Burials from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Jamie Goecker
Jamie Goecker is a lifelong night owl and horror lover from Michigan. Her love of spooky things began as a child, when she first noticed that other kids were scared of the movies she treasured. Films such as Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, and Return to Oz fascinated her and sparked her imagination. Then came the Goosebumps and Fear Street book series by R.L. Stine, which ignited her love of horror fiction. Outside of her day job, she devotes as much time as possible to reading, reviewing, and her other love—listening to music. When she’s not engaged in those activities, she’s likely cooking, hunting for vintage paperbacks, daydreaming, or exploring the gorgeous local scenery (while also taking photos of books).
Blog: www.nightfallupnorth.wordpress.com
Twitter: @jsg402
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightfall_up_north/
Leave a Reply