Salmacis: Becoming Not Quite a Woman E-Book

Elizabeth Train-Brown

• Herausgeber: Renard Press
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 21

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

As recounted by the Roman poet Ovid, a young nymph, Salmacis, one day spied Hermaphroditus bathing; consumed with passion, she entered the water and, begging the gods to allow them to stay together, the two became one – part man, part woman. An Eclectic Pagan, for Elizabeth Ovid's fables are more than fiction, and form a framework for exploring identity. Drawing on the rich mythological history associated with the tale of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus, and re-examining the tale through the lens of metaphor, Salmacis: Becoming Not Quite a Woman is a stirringly relatable and powerful exploration of gender, love and identity.

Leseprobe

salmacis becoming not quite a woman

elizabeth train-brown

renard press

Renard Press Ltd

124 City Road

London EC1V 2NX

United Kingdom

[email protected]

020 8050 2928

www.renardpress.com

salmacis: becoming not quite a woman first published by Renard Press Ltd in 2022

Text © Elizabeth Train-Brown, 2022

Cover design by Will Dady

Elizabeth Train-Brown asserts their right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Renard Press is proud to be a climate positive publisher, removing more carbon from the air than we emit and planting a small forest. For more information see renardpress.com/eco.

All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, used to train artificial intelligence systems or models, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior permission of the publisher.

EU Authorised Representative: Easy Access System Europe – Mustamäe tee 50, 10621 Tallinn, Estonia, [email protected].

contents

salmacis: becoming not quite a woman

the serpent had nothing to do with it

as told in hair

gods, monsters and complex ptsd

blood of the covenant / waters of the womb

you pray your way and i’ll pray mine

ovid tells it best

the queen of hearts

orlando / orlanda

3 a.m. voice notes on snapchat

tesco trolleys, sambuca and old photos

lessons i almost learned

chasing my therapist to a rave in the woods

the bearers of lightning still weather the storm

we are just bats

a man once called me babel instead of baby

what blood won’t tell you

we all watch the same gods

have you ever faked your own death and run away with a ferrier?

fire for a throne and despair for a god

writing is easy as breathing

i call her a different name in front of her parents

it’s not just demons who make deals at crossroads

a boy in a nightclub alley once called me a siren

daphne

shh

acknowledgements

about the poet

salmacis becoming not quite a woman

The key to success is to question your gender three times before breakfast and throw yourself at water nymphs.

the serpent had nothing to do with it

i bit deep

into the forbidden fruit

clutched it to the hollow of my chest

folded myself into the floor

and

howled

screamed my lungs raw and burning

shattered my teeth

tore apart eden

trying to fill this ache behind my womb

that tasted divinity

and was still broken