the moon won’t be dared is my latest book review on the TLC Book Tour.   I don’t seek out poetry books often (unless I know the poet) and the last volume I read was again for TLC,  Why I Never Finished My Dissertation (a most excellent book).  Let’s jump into this latest work.

About the book:

About the author:

Anne Leigh Parrish lives in a forest in the south sound region of Washington state.  Her poetry is isnpired by both the world of nature and the world of politics.  She believes women have been told to be quiet for too long.  While she writes often of home and hearth, her interests range widely.

Parrish is the author of five previously published books of fiction: Women Within, a novel (Black Rose Writing, 2017); By The Wayside, stories (Unsolicited Press, 2017); What Is Found, What Is Lost, a novel (She Writes Press, 2014); Our Love Could Light The World, stories (She Writes Press, 2013); and All The Roads That Lead From Home, stories, (Press 53, 2011). She is the author of over forty-five published short stories, and numerous essays on the art and craft of writing. Learn more by visiting her website at www.anneleighparrish.com.

Connect with Anne

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

What I thought…

This is the third book I’ve read by Parrish.  Maggie’s Ruse was my first introduction to her writing.  This short novel was about two twins and obviously a “ruse.”  The second work I read was A Winter Night which was a sort of sequel to Maggie’s Ruse in the sense that the same family was at the center of the tale.  Instead of the twins, the story revolved around their older sister.

Obviously, it is a bit difficult to compare poetry to works of fiction so I won’t even try.

As mentioned in the book’s blurb, Parrish uses a lot of natural disasters to reflect personal turmoil.  Fires and storms abound.   The motif of fire is the most prevalent:  “another blaze” (17),  “fire eats the forest” (36),  a body doused in gasoline (56)….  These violent images mirror relationship angst and trauma but Parrish then moves toward societal angst and trauma, “what we talk about when we watch the handmaid’s tale” (71) and “tough luck” (80).

I will say I got a bit bored with the same images and same message.  I did enjoy some of the poems that did seem to have a more personal slant like “piercing” (87).

It is hard for me to not read poetry as autobiographical  and that is a struggle I acknowledge.  I certainly hope that Parrish did not totally draw on her own life experiences.

I did enjoy her honesty and wit:

[there’s a difference between doing something
because everyone says you should,
and will shit on you if you don’t,
and doing it because you know that without you,
it won’t get done]  (57)

Parrish’s view point is obvious and the echoes of the “Me, too” movement are prevalent.   Commentaries of “creating fires that need stamped out” (21) involve harassments, sexual assault, and simply being heard.

The artwork of Lydia Selk is lovely and thought-provoking and is paired perfectly with the poems.

the moon won’t be dared is my favorite Parrish book to date.

The food…

I always try to pair food with my book reviews and while there is a bit of food mentioned in the volume, when it is, it often represents the plight of women as well:  “she cured cancer, she cured ham” (72).   There’s a “forty year old recipe for pineapple upside down cake” (84), “lamb and beef, or something full of blood/your mother prepares with rosemary, thyme, garlic and olive oil” (88), and a martini that an aunt pours “to kill the pain of being in her own skin” (88).  A cherry pie appears but the speaker feels it’s important that Mother is picking in “a white dress decorated/with red something—not cherries—/she’s not a matchy-match girl”(92).

Again, since most of the food was presented as frightening (“full of blood”) or as a part of the stereotypical world of woman’s work, I found it hard to find inspiration for a recipe.

I kept going back the theme of fire.

I decided to revisit a recipe that is literally cooked in the ashes.

Ironically, my original post was done this same month in 2014.

Please check out the other reviews of the moon won’t be dared.  If you are a poetry fan, I would recommend this book.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Parrish for the opportunity to read this volume.