THE FOUR FACES OF EVE by Waldstein, Perkins, Granville and Boyle will be out in November
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- Category: Forthcoming Books
- Published: Monday, 30 September 2024 07:03
- Written by Super User
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The Four Faces of Eve-- a collection of poetry by Constance Boyle, Brooke Granville, Petra Perkins and Gail Waldstein--showcases a treasury of experiences and accumulated wisdom, both painful and pleasurable, that are parts of four rich, full lives. Coming from diverse backgrounds, with varied careers and work histories, these four mature poets hold precious the joy of being in each other’s lives as they explore moments each has lived. In sections, titled #WeToo, Amour, Motherhood, Death-and-Grief, Resilience, and Spirit, they re-live, with unusual honesty, some of the conflicts, traumas, and moments of joy which they understand to be both unique and common among women. (Forewarning: some of the poems depict abuse and death.)
The name Eve is derived from definitions of life, to live, to give life and to breathe. The "Eves" who created Four Faces embody those definitions. Their title also plays with that of a 1957 classic movie, The Three Faces of Eve, in which Joanna Woodward portrayed a woman whose dissociative identity disorder caused her to exhibit three very different personalities. Boyle, Granville, Perkins and Waldstein invert the movie's paradigm. Each has associated her experiences with those of her friends so fully that the resulting collection of poems serves as an overview of a larger life, one deeply rooted in the experiences of Everywoman in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Each of the poets has experienced being dismissed as too emotional or being ignored or discounted because she is female (or more recently because they are seniors). Each has known the unbalanced pull of desire, the mad rush of love, the disabling torpor of grief, and the incredible happiness of being a mother.
"As we try to define our faces," they explain, "the two images for theater, the laughter and sorrow masks, come to mind. [However,] there are many more divisions of emotions: anger, curiosity, boredom, disgust, grief, fear, and horror. The list is long."