Rita Maria Martinez

I have to concur with another reviewer...poetry is hard to review. That being said, reading poetry always seems to evoke something in the inner spirit. It's getting those feelings on paper that proves to be difficult. The poems in these pages speak to me of a love for Jane Eyre, and also for Bertha, and a wish for their liberation and happiness. I loved the references to Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea (a book I also loved), and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. These references speak to the practice in the past of diagnosing women as hysterical and confining them as treatment. An explanation of the fate of Bertha in Jane Eyre, and its "prequel" Wide Sargasso Sea.

I also liked the incorporation of modern themes. One of my favorite poems in the volume speaks of this use of modernity...

Nautica

I was walking toward the post
when a guy whizzed by like a messenger.
I can't tell you what he looked like
or what he wore, only that the scent
of his cologne lingered as if saying hello--
and that he smelled like you, like the blue flask
of Nautica you kept in the glove
compartment, like my purple turtleneck
on nights I sank into bed carrying
your scent the way little girls
carry dolls to their beds, the way men
carry loose change in their pockets
all day, without realizing.


I love how it demonstrates the power of scent in invoking our memories and how we carry those memories with us, at times unnoticed, until a scent comes along and reminds us, like Grandma's cookies, or the smell of a child's hair when they were babies.

Anyone who loves Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and poetry, should really read this volume. Truthfully, you should read this even if you're not a fan of the former or latter. It's that good.… (més)

In my ongoing (but entirely accidental) Year of Eyre, this collection of poetry fits perfectly. It has a fierce, unapologetic, and wildly imaginative nature, mixing feminist critique and pop culture with an unabashed love for Charlotte Bronte and her classic novel.

In this book, Martinez evokes the multitudes of Janes and Berthas that exist now: Janes that are heroines and Janes that are doormats; Berthas who are misunderstood and Berthas who need major therapy and meds. Undoubtedly, one can find a Jane or Bertha in this collection that echoes the woman one sees in the novel; the others will challenge and provoke (and undoubtedly polarize), and it's this edgy, reckless collage of personalities that I found most enjoyable.

There are more than 35 poems, divided into three sections. Some take on the "legacy" of beloved authors, like in her piece "Postmortem Lament for Charlotte":

You’re a commodity now. They will pillage your life.
They will raid the closets of your memory—
auctioning, trading, and stealing your correspondence
for posterity, entertainment, or several hundred pounds.
Everyone will know you had the hots for your French
teacher because his wife will salvage your ripped
scrawl from the trash and stitch the pieces together with cotton
and gum.

Others are more outrageous and button-pushing (and polarising!), as Martinez gives new voice -- and interpretation -- to the characters in Jane Eyre. From "Rochester Triptych":

At first it was curiosity, whim.
I wanted to know if she was a private
school girl with public school pizzazz,
fire and ice, you know the kind:
ankle-length skirts, panties optional.

Tenacious of life, eager plums,
these Lowood girls.

and "Blanche Ingram’s Bitterness":

Their engagement portrait and my modeling pics are smeared
across the tabloids like bird shit on a windshield.

That smug mug, Miss Hoytoytoy’s blotchy pinched face
makes me puke. Never trust anyone named Jane—

especially a loose tooth who futzes with her fork
and doesn’t know how to butter her bread.

Good riddance to him and his French freeloader,
says mom. You’re in the bloom of youth, honey bunny.

Martinez includes a "glossary" identifying some of the figures she quotes from or name drops in her pieces, which is helpful, as well as a Notes section with sources for her quotes or poetic inspiration.

As someone who doesn't love Jane Eyre, I appreciated the less-than-flattering reinterpretation of Jane and Rochester throughout this collection. Fans of the novel might take umbrage, but there might be something here that clicks as well.… (més)