Thank you to Carlo Matos for writing this excellent review.
Here are some parts of it:
In “House on Fire,” which is
set apart from the other poems by its reddish, flame-colored print, the speaker
says, “The house is kindling . . . The house is a pyre . . . The family aflame
. . . Her father, a devil . . . Your house ablaze, get out.” These simple
declarative statements capture much of the desperation of a family being held
hostage by a father who has become a force of destruction.
In the prose poem, “Notes on
Despair” we begin to deal with the aftermath of these traumatic experiences,
with guilt and/or blame. The speaker says, “She never worked as hard as her
sister. Maybe that’s why it / happened . . . His teeth. His hands. His fist.
His dick. She is feeding them. She is ten. She cannot tell.” The “she,” as I
mentioned earlier, is the narrator herself, who is trying to rationalize why
her father targeted her. She fears it might be punishment for her lack of
industry as compared to her sister. But in “Almost Dark” there are no
rationalizations, only anger: “and I squat thinking of ways / to kill him.” But
by the time we get to the final poem, her feelings have become a bit more
complex—blame and guilt seem to be beside the point: “I’m not sure what is more
pathetic you trying to decide if the poem is blaming you / or her and you and I
and you or I again can’t remember things or don’t care” (“Spontaneous Symmetry
Breaking”). And the syntax is such that it is quite difficult to pin down just
who “you” is. Clearly, “you” can be the father, but “you” could also be the
speaker—a self-incrimination designed to force her to move beyond the past, to
“Stop writing / about your father” (“The Oracle”).
Read the whole review here - http://www.cleavermagazine.com/house-on-fire-by-susan-yount-reviewed-by-carlo-matos/
And get your own copy of House on Fire here -https://www.etsy.com/listing/177826146/new-house-on-fire-by-susan-yount-2014?ref=shop_home_feat_4
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