Book Review: "Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things" by Amanda Lovelace

 

Cover of "Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things" by Amanda Lovelace
*Spoiler warning!*

4/5 stars

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is my latest foray into Amanda Lovelace’s fairytale and folklore-inspired poetry. While this volume was on the shorter end, I still enjoyed it and found that many of its poems resonated with me.

“Who said you can’t/Wear a flower crown/& still remain/A fearsome thing?”
GIF: Lore Olympus, Persephone

The main mythology Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things draws from is the story of Persephone (also known as Kore), the goddess of spring and of the underworld. A complex and fascinating dichotomy, Persephone’s story is one of my favorites from Greek mythology, and I was thrilled that Lovelace was channeling Persephone in her poetry here.

GIF: "I'm Persephone, Queen of the Underworld"

The symbolism here is fairly obvious in that spring can be associated with the traditional notion of femininity, that of being beautiful, yet delicate. Yet, Persephone also has a tougher side of her, in that she helps to oversee the underworld, no doubt getting a full look at death in all its forms.

There’s a bunch of dualities here, whether it’s in Persephone having her toes both in feminine and masculine realms (her husband, Hades, is the king of the underworld and the primary god of death) and in the creation of life and its death. She is part of the cycle from beginning to end.

“When they drag you through hell/Do not simply accept it/Do not just give in/Go on & reign over the very flames that were meant to be your end/Wear them as a crown”
GIF: Persephone, as depicted in Assassin's Creed

I have really come to enjoy Lovelace’s modern-day take on classical mythology and folklore. I think the main message here is that—surprise, I know—women are complex people, defying the simple nature often ascribed to them by misogynistic views of traditional femininity.

Happy reading!

--BookOwl

 

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