Just to the Right of the Stove

I love the feeling of being eager to explore a poet’s work and Elisabeth Horan‘s latest book Just to the Right of the Stove was a collection that had held me eager since I first heard about it prior to its release. 

The thought of a poet creating poetry based on imagined conversations with Sylvia Plath certainly captured my interest. The poet promised us poems which centred on motherhood, insanity and genius and that is exactly what this book holds. Having heard Elizabeth Horan read from her previous collections I knew the poems would be heartfelt and have the power to sear. And sear they did. 

I like poems to grip me from first reading and pull me back to them straight afterwards. There are poems in this book that certainly do that. ‘Keeping Tabs’ creates vivid imagery with lines such as “I go deep, I go dark... My children have learned not to listen when I yell… We know she's nuts…” The poignancy of this poem resounds as the reader reaches the end which then leads to that feeling of being compelled to go back in and feel it all again. ‘To Be Polite – I Sip the Oversteeped Tea’ is another favourite; it begins with an apology, empathises and then invites a continued conversation. 

Horan writes in a range of styles throughout the book which propels the reader through and into poems which proclaim, question and converse with power. I can sense the speed at which the poet’s mind works within these poems and this effectively captures the emotional content and the fast paced back and to of the conversation between the two poets and the heartfelt exploration of the pain of five years of postpartum depression. The whole book is a poetic rollercoaster ride (with full on ghost tunnel detours) which will have you clinging on and then wanting to take the ride again.