Furies: A Poetry Anthology of Women Warriors edited by Eve Lacey

Book Review by Ceris Aston | 01 Oct 2014
Book title: Furies: A Poetry Anthology of Women Warriors
Author: Eve Lacey

The Furies are infernal goddesses of justice and vengeance, daughters of Gaia and punishers of wrongs. In For Books’ Sake’s first anthology – in aid of Rape Crisis England & Wales – women writers rewrite the world with empathy, passion and fury. ‘It is hard to talk about rape,’ writes Bridget Minamore – but poets in this book do so fearlessly, gracefully and with honesty. ‘These secrets that we hold / Are hunted snakes on silver leashes / Venom restrained only by memory.’ Their words celebrate women, survivors and warriors, in a collection which gives voice to the unheard. Sometimes painful, sometimes empowering, the anthology explores a wealth of women’s experience, creating herstories that subvert and interweave with male-dominated histories. 

‘I stand like marble under the cross, but you see when I left / there, I ripped up my dress and let go pure snot and eye-water,’ reveals Malika Booker’s Mary Magdalene, while Diana Brodie’s A Daughter Sings From the Earth quietly asks: ‘Why does Icarus, my brother, need wings?’ Furies brings together a collection of writers from around the world, uniting their voices in a powerful chorus that challenges and changes the status quo. Furies is an exquisite, compelling read. [Ceris Aston]

Out now, published by For Books' Sake, RRP £9.99