who said you can't
wear a flower crown
& still remain
a fearsome thing?
- make persephone proud.

Poet Amanda Lovelace's new collection, Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is appropriately dedicated to those who wish to raise hell most elegantly (vii).
In this collection, Lovelace explores the concept of dualism in the lived experience of women and the expression of feminity. She draws inspiration from the mythological persona of the ancient Greek goddess Persephone, revered simultaneously as Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld - "equal parts soft and fierce" (p.xi).
The poems flow in sets of two, thematically and stylistically similar but differentiated by their perspectives on the subject-matter. Interleaved with recurring illustrations depicting either a soft flower meadow (representing flower crowns) or a burning rose bush (representing fearsome things) as appropriate, one poem evokes, whimsy, vulnerability and a feminine "inner voice", the other a powerfully insightful ideological rage. The deliberate juxtaposition successfully works to amplify the impact of the poems and the underlying concept of duality.
Within the poems, Lovelace explores themes including feminine vulnerability and strength, self-empowerment, female complexity, male-female dynamics, patriarchy, body image, resilience, violence against women (including coercive control), and gender roles as depicted in myth and fairytale.
The poems are up-to-the-minute in terms of subject matter. [C]ould the bar get any lower? (p.19) and [B]elieve her, no matter what. (p.115) perfectly encapsulate the contemporary struggle for safety, justice and respect in the context of the "Me Too" movement. On a lighter note, [A]t last (p.39) reflects on the unexpected feminist upside of having to wear a mask during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The poems resonated more for me than those contained within the poet's best-known collection, The Princess Saves Herself in This One, which I re-read in preparation for writing this review. Several evoked such a strong response that I feel compelled to share several of the poems with particular friends or female role-models for whom they'd also resonate.
Lovelace employs her signature prose style, dispensing with capitalisation and using deceptively simple, yet evocative, language to explore each poem's theme. The poems do contain potential triggers for some, which the author enumerates as including: intimate partner abuse, sexual assault, cheating, child abuse, trauma, death, violence, misogyny, body image, eating disorders, alcohol, fire and possibly more. She advises readers to remember to practice self-care before, during, & after reading. While several of the poems are indeed quite confronting in their raw power, I felt that the poet approached these difficult areas of women's experience with sensitivity and with great insight.
Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is a stimulating collection of contemporary prose-poetry, which will strike a personal chord with many readers and contains important messages in the context of up-to-the minute feminist politics.
My thanks to the poet, Amanda Lovelace, publisher Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this thought-provoking and entertaining collection.