Unwilling: Poems of Horror and Darkness by Gerri Leen

(self-published, 2024). $4.99 102pgs, available for purchase on Amazon

Gerri Leen’s latest collection contains 88 pages of poetry playing on fantastical and dark themes.

There is a lot of death and things hidden in the proverbial shadows, all presented in relatively short lyrical form.

Leen twists many familiar myths or images, as in “Medusa Ups Her Game”:

“I’ve abandoned stone for fire
And this time you can watch
As I burn it all down
You’ll long for snakes when this is done” (“Medusa Ups Her Game”)

or “What If It Hurts?”

“I always thought magic would feel good
Bubbly and warm, moving through
My system like a sweet wine
But it stings, sharp little jabs…” (“What If It Hurts?”)

The shifting of the reader’s assumptions is where these poems find their sweet spot. Most of the poems are free verse with first person narratives that strike a conversational tone, as if the narrator is sharing this all over a cup of tea or while standing at the office water cooler. That lightness in tone contrasts to the blood and ravens everywhere else.

Because of the consistency of her poetic form, I found that poems deviating from that stood out — there’s a villanelle and a few where the stanzas are punctuated with single lines that move the poem, a few written in couplets. These variations helped change the pace of the collection.

Readers looking for clever and novel approaches that shift their relationship to old stories, opening dark avenues down familiar lanes, will appreciate this collection. And the stylistic consistency provides a kind of comfort; the reader knows what to expect. I found myself wanting to see the poetic voice stretch and surprise me as much as the concepts in the poems.

—John Reinhart