Becoming the Villainess

By Jeannine Hall Gailey

Book Overview

In this splendidly entertaining debut, Jeannine Hall Gailey offers us a world both familiar and magical-filled with fairytale and mythology characters that are our own bedfellows-we wake up with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0974326437
• ISBN13: 9780974326436
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Steel Toe Books
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

One of my all-time favorite books of poetry

Becoming the Villainess is hands-down one of my favorite books of persona poems! Gailey takes the familiar tropes of myth & fairy tale and transforms them into an experience of the strange, the even-stranger, the wicked & unexpected. Like Sexton's Transformations, these poems recall the stories of childhood, all the while adding depth and even a touch of humor to temper the heart-breaking moments created in this fabulous collection.

Brilliant!

This is a gem of a book. The poems are accessible and imaginative, the poetics are thoughtful and expertly crafted, and the subject matter steers clear of the archaic and esoteric which belabors so much of contemporary poetry. Gailey navigates popular culture, contemporary feminism, fairy tales, superheroes and the world of electronica with terrific finesse and a sharp sense of humor. Her voice rings clear as a bell in this collection and I can't wait to see what she's got next. She could be a Billy Collins for the younger women in contemporary America who have already traced the roots of their power back to Suffrage and see that feminism isn't just about bra-burning and symbology, but about using what our mothers gave us: voices, brains, and mettle. I'm inspired.

A dramatic, moving collection; each poem has a gripping personal story to tell

Becoming the Villainess is the debut collection of free-verse poetry by journalist Jeannine Hall Gailey. Addressing the archtypes of myth, from modern pop culture to Ovid to Grimm's fairy tales, Gailey weaves words expressing the hearts of shunned, reviled, justly and unjustly treated villainesses and female victims of fable. A dramatic, moving collection; each poem has a gripping personal story to tell. "Daphne, Older": Peel back my skin: / reveal hard fibers, bite marks, // scars from wind and rain. / Life is pain - I won't tell you // any different. Just that sometimes, / avoiding what you fear // isn't the answer. See? All these years / my branches sang with birds // and my leaves drank sunlight- / I haven't missed much. // My heartwood hardens slowly / over time - first, to the music, then, to the light.

"Thwack!" Gailey hits the mark with her first full-length poetry collection.

Jeannine Hall Gailey's book is fresh and edgy. Her collection empowers women by splicing narratives from mythology and fairy tales with modern subjects like video games and anime, giving voice to silenced women and retelling their stories with a feminist perspective. Following in the poetic footsteps of many greats, including Louise Gl?ck and Margaret Atwood, Gailey's book is sure to grasp your attention early and hold you till the end, surprising you at each step with the strength of her craft and the honesty of her own experiences told through the framework of persona poetry.