mermaids

Pirate Talk or Mermalade

alicia — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 16:00:00 +0000

I liked most things about this book. My childlike love for pirates and mermaids created my bias for the title. Using an unique concept, Pirate Talk or Mermalade is a novel written entirely in dialogue. An interesting plot is boasted: "two brothers meet a mermaid, fall into pirating, and end up in the Arctic." The quotes used in the beginning of the book are beautiful. Lastly, Terese Svoboda's writing is engaging and skilled.

What I disliked, and actually ruined the book for me, however, was its poor choice of layout. Allow me to explain. This book is written completely in "pirate talk" between two characters. This would work well if it was written like a theatrical script, listing the names next to the lines of dialogue. However, no names are ever used in this book. The next person's line is only indented as a cue for the audience. Pirate Talk or Mermalade also lacked narration of any kind. This would have been helpful while navigating its heavy speech.

It was difficult for me to read sprawling dialogue for so many pages. I was usually too concerned with figuring out who was saying what instead of paying attention to the advancement of the story. Once I figured out who was speaking, the chapter would end, sending me back to a confusing start. I felt my mind growing weary and my eyes going crossed with each page. On the back cover, it is mentioned the author specifically wrote this book for Talk Like A Pirate Day.

It seems that Pirate Talk or Mermalade is meant to be a novelty. But the book's whimsical streak turned out to be its greatest weakness. This is a shame. Everything else about the book creates the foundation for a terrific novel. With some minor editing, it could become an interesting, engaging story that is also accessible to read. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if these brothers became something akin to Harry Potter.

Written by: Jacquie Piasta, October 3rd 2010

Contents of a Mermaid’s Purse

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:01:00 +0000

By Phoebe Tsang

Tightrope Books

Phoebe Tsang’s Contents of a Mermaid's Purse is somewhat like a real purse a modern woman might have: familiar and, at the same time, exotic—and so is what it holds. Dumping the purse’s contents onto the table to sift through proves to be an exercise in strange beauty—an alluring siren’s call fulfilled. From the seemingly mundane poems like “My Mother’s Bread”—in which I’m intrigued to keep reading after learning that her mother’s bread is as hard as soapstone—to the fantastic, watery world that comprises almost all of the second section, Contents of a Mermaid's Purse does not disappoint.

Tsang’s work often deals with an undefined “you”, who I assume to be the speaker’s lover, though it’s unclear and may change between poems. Alluding to an other in her prose poem “Fox Fire,” she writes, “I rise early to spin stories by the kitchen window until the heartbeat murmur of footsteps begins to fall like rain at my back...”

I was talking with a friend about the collection and she asked me what I thought of mermaids in general. We discovered that she and I have conflicting ideas of what a mermaid actually is and what it represents, and my idea of one was/is more sinister than hers. So, she asked, in the poem “In Love with a Mermaid” who speaks these lines: “the spell uncast on my lips / so you wouldn’t be netted”—the mermaid or the lover? Such are the questions and intrigue winding itself through Tsang’s poetry.

As someone who likes rich, visual poetry, I really enjoyed reading Contents of a Mermaid's Purse and recommend it to those who are fond of such a bold foray into daring writing. Expect unusual metaphors and dangerous beauty, and expect to have lines haunt you long after the last page is turned. I especially liked the previously mentioned poems “My Mother’s Bread” and “Fox Fire” as well as “Black Cat,” “The Fox and the Lady,” “Blood Roses,” and “Lady Luck.”

Written by: Viannah Duncan, March 2nd 2010

Magdalene and the Mermaids

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:30:00 +0000

By Elizabeth Kate Switaj

Paper Kite Press

After reading Elizabeth Kate Switaj’s collection of poetry Magdalene and the Mermaids, I decided I wanted to know a bit more about her. It turns out that she grew up in Seattle, spent years in Asia teaching English and traveling, lived briefly in Brooklyn, and is now back in Seattle. Movement and change and challenges to identity, which seem to be informed by her movements through the world, run through this book in addition to the themes and ideas of, you guessed it, Mary Magdalene and mermaids.

In many of the poems about mermaids, there is an idea that the speaker is out of place. The poems echo with loss and being misplaced in time or space and not quite being ready for whatever is about to happen. Frequently an image of transformation (scales falling off, tail splitting into legs) pops up and is almost always a painful one. These themes and ideas can resonate with a wide audience. Who hasn’t felt out of place or resented having to move or change?

The book and its themes are inextricably linked to women. Mentions of the moon and ancient connections to the feminine recur. Many of the poems connect with Mary Magdalene's being misunderstood and maligned. She is nearly always portrayed alone and thinking back to the crucifixion, and there is no one there to understand or empathize with her.

The poems don’t need to be read all at once in order to understand the book, but the pieces do link together. The collection of poems is powerful and strongly connected to women.

Written by: Kristin Conard, July 23rd 2009