Odette Augstine meets readers in all of their muck and glory immediately upon diving into Of Elderberries, Fire, & Fables. This book of poems starts in the context of healing and goes on to explore the complexities, joy, and grief of aging, power dynamics, love, and more. Valentine’s imagery is piercing. The creaking and bending of bones growing from girlhood to womanhood pulsate through the pages. Readers will feel as if they are taking a bite of fresh fruit, only to mourn the rot that sticks in back molars. Valentine contemplates the effects of time through emotive remarks on memory, what humans carry, and marks we leave behind. Her magical language tells of the lives one body can remember, hold, and become. When finished, readers will feel their hearts and remember they are still beating.
Kelli Lage, Author of Early Cuts