A couple weeks after reading Gwen Benaway's day/break, I picked up her third book of poetry, Holy Wild. If the cover art by Quill Christie-Peters doesn't get your attention then the 24 poems in this collection will. I've mentioned in a previous review that Gwen Benaway is an Indigenous, transgender woman. For this collection of poetry, it was a conscious decision that both poet and artist use their talents and mediums, images and words to challenge views about our bodies, our homelands, and our communities.
Like the previous poems I've read by Benaway, these poems are powerful and have similar themes of abuse, violence, love, sex, figuring out your identity, and being comfortable in your own skin when it is not an easy thing to do. Some of the prose are dark and intimate, others are so bright you are blinded by its honesty. Benaway has a real talent for writing emotion. I don't think I've ever had my heart ripped out in this way while reading poetry before.
After reading a couple of her poetry collections, I will read more and I think she's a gifted writer with a strong voice to pay attention to. Another good read for Pride month.
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