Fiona Benson's 'Vertigo & Ghost' is a powerful collection that delves into themes of trauma, motherhood, and global anxiety. The poems, inspired by Greek myths and personal experiences, offer a raw and visceral exploration of women's bodies and contemporary fears.
Fiona Benson's 'Vertigo & Ghost' is a collection that fearlessly tackles themes of trauma, motherhood, and the fragility of modern life. The poems draw inspiration from Greek myths, particularly the figure of Zeus as a sexual predator, and personal experiences of childbirth and motherhood. Benson's work is notable for its visceral and physical accounts, which she sees as a continuation of a tradition that includes popular ballads and folksongs. The collection begins with a poem about adolescent longing and then plunges into a sequence of dazzling poems that use Greek myth as a framework. Benson's reforging of episodes from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' is spectacular, turning voyeuristic rapes into an inward exploration of the female body. The second part of the collection deals with the narrator's rural life and experiences of childbirth and motherhood, creating a cycle of a woman's life. Throughout, there is a common thread of anxiety and a sense of fragility, reflecting the global context of violence and instability. Benson's work is a powerful reminder of the seam of dread that lurks just beneath the surface of our times.
Quick quotes
The day Zeus came to the safe-house and shoved a sawn-off shotgun through the letterbox calling softly like he was calling to the cat that terrible croon, SWEETHEART, I’M HOME.
A number of these poems were written in a single burst, one half-term when she was visiting her parents with her children, and had an evening to herself.
I can’t think of anything else I’ve read that so accurately describes the seam of dread that lurks just beneath the surface of our times.