The Eggshell Skull Rule (Kelsay Books, 2018)
Order it on Amazon here
Praise for The Eggshell Skull Rule:
In The Eggshell Skull Rule, Amy Strauss Friedman masterfully constructs a home from “a foundation of velvet” and “holy bricks.” This is a home that becomes flesh, that becomes mystical in its emotional resonance, where “all wounds fasten memory at bone level.” Strauss Friedman’s home is a gorgeously human place of “growling beauty,” of “celestial livers, kidneys,/guts, hearts.” The poems in this debut collection take my breath away with their unceasing pressure on words and on the relationships of the mother, the daughter, the family. The Eggshell Skull Rulebears witness to the resilience of language, love, and a heart that throbs: “Alive alive alive.”
—Jennifer Martelli, author of The Uncanny Valleyand After Bird
Amy Strauss Friedman’s poetry evokes Janus, a god who gazed simultaneously at past and future. “We confront, we glass, we fragment/what once we forged,” she writes, capturing the realization that what seemed to be iron might be the most fragile of all, poised to shatter. Her lines dart after mother and motherhood, old heartbreaks and uncertain futurescapes, all while struggling to inhabit the aching, brittle now.
--Jessica Walsh, author of How to Break My Neck
In Amy Strauss Friedman’s The Eggshell Skull Rule,the bodies of mothers and daughters blend into one another and explode apart in alienating synchronicity, leaving the reader to reassemble their own ghosts and question if everything has been put back together. Strauss Friedman’s poems challenge us to scrutinize our own reflection in the mirror. Does your portrait actually look like you think it looks? She dissembles bodies: teeth are on the outside, blood is spilt. From the poem “She Who Never Presented Herself Even When Present”: “Forgive me for the blood that weeps from my hands.//But red was all I knew of climate,/all that seasoned my food.” Perhaps catastrophic relationships slice us open and we survive; perhaps not.
--Jennifer MacBain-Stephens, author of Your Best Asset is a White Lace Dressand The Messenger is Already Dead.
Gathered Bones are Known to Wander (Red Bird Chapbooks, 2016)
Praise for Gathered Bones are Known to Wander:
In this collection, Amy Strauss Friedman constructs a framework where Google Earth, God’s secretary and Jackson Pollock do not appear as misfits, rather joints that allow the reader to gracefully bend at each unexpected turn. Her voice rings wise in the wake of dissolution, is frank with beauty and deft analysis. While each poem exposes more of the marrow that animates these bones, her perspective proves so inviting that I found myself happily wandering along with them, never once feeling lost.
-- Megan Merchant, 2015 Lyrebird Prize Winner for The Dark’s Humming (Glass Lyre Press)
Amy Strauss Friedman’s prose poems are sneaky in the best way. They begin with what seem to be everyday occurrences—looking in the mirror or at a photograph, answering the phone, communicating with a partner—but ultimately reveal the magic that lies within the commonplace. Friedman subtly builds momentum through straightforward narratives that ease us into comfort before stunning us with unexpected insights. This collection inspires us to look beyond our routines, to seek out the puzzles we haven’t yet completed.
-- Daniel M. Shapiro, author of How the Potato Chip Was Invented (Sunnyoutside Press)
Press for Gathered Bones are Known to Wander:
*** Interview on Gathered Bones at the Carpe Noctem Chapbook Series here ***
*** Review of Gathered Bones by Jennifer Martelli at Stirring here ***
*** Review of Gathered Bones by Eric Cline at Yellow Chair Review here ***
*** Review of Gathered Bones by Rachel Sahaidachny at Red Paint Hill here ***
*** "Not Getting to Know You." Interview with Jarrett Neal at Newcity here ***
*** Review of Gathered Bones by Spencer Dew at decomP here ***
*** Review of Gathered Bones by Jennifer MacBain-Stephens at Agape here ***
To order your SIGNED copy of Gathered Bones are Known to Wander, click the link below:
Order it on Amazon here
Praise for The Eggshell Skull Rule:
In The Eggshell Skull Rule, Amy Strauss Friedman masterfully constructs a home from “a foundation of velvet” and “holy bricks.” This is a home that becomes flesh, that becomes mystical in its emotional resonance, where “all wounds fasten memory at bone level.” Strauss Friedman’s home is a gorgeously human place of “growling beauty,” of “celestial livers, kidneys,/guts, hearts.” The poems in this debut collection take my breath away with their unceasing pressure on words and on the relationships of the mother, the daughter, the family. The Eggshell Skull Rulebears witness to the resilience of language, love, and a heart that throbs: “Alive alive alive.”
—Jennifer Martelli, author of The Uncanny Valleyand After Bird
Amy Strauss Friedman’s poetry evokes Janus, a god who gazed simultaneously at past and future. “We confront, we glass, we fragment/what once we forged,” she writes, capturing the realization that what seemed to be iron might be the most fragile of all, poised to shatter. Her lines dart after mother and motherhood, old heartbreaks and uncertain futurescapes, all while struggling to inhabit the aching, brittle now.
--Jessica Walsh, author of How to Break My Neck
In Amy Strauss Friedman’s The Eggshell Skull Rule,the bodies of mothers and daughters blend into one another and explode apart in alienating synchronicity, leaving the reader to reassemble their own ghosts and question if everything has been put back together. Strauss Friedman’s poems challenge us to scrutinize our own reflection in the mirror. Does your portrait actually look like you think it looks? She dissembles bodies: teeth are on the outside, blood is spilt. From the poem “She Who Never Presented Herself Even When Present”: “Forgive me for the blood that weeps from my hands.//But red was all I knew of climate,/all that seasoned my food.” Perhaps catastrophic relationships slice us open and we survive; perhaps not.
--Jennifer MacBain-Stephens, author of Your Best Asset is a White Lace Dressand The Messenger is Already Dead.
Gathered Bones are Known to Wander (Red Bird Chapbooks, 2016)
Praise for Gathered Bones are Known to Wander:
In this collection, Amy Strauss Friedman constructs a framework where Google Earth, God’s secretary and Jackson Pollock do not appear as misfits, rather joints that allow the reader to gracefully bend at each unexpected turn. Her voice rings wise in the wake of dissolution, is frank with beauty and deft analysis. While each poem exposes more of the marrow that animates these bones, her perspective proves so inviting that I found myself happily wandering along with them, never once feeling lost.
-- Megan Merchant, 2015 Lyrebird Prize Winner for The Dark’s Humming (Glass Lyre Press)
Amy Strauss Friedman’s prose poems are sneaky in the best way. They begin with what seem to be everyday occurrences—looking in the mirror or at a photograph, answering the phone, communicating with a partner—but ultimately reveal the magic that lies within the commonplace. Friedman subtly builds momentum through straightforward narratives that ease us into comfort before stunning us with unexpected insights. This collection inspires us to look beyond our routines, to seek out the puzzles we haven’t yet completed.
-- Daniel M. Shapiro, author of How the Potato Chip Was Invented (Sunnyoutside Press)
Press for Gathered Bones are Known to Wander:
*** Interview on Gathered Bones at the Carpe Noctem Chapbook Series here ***
*** Review of Gathered Bones by Jennifer Martelli at Stirring here ***
*** Review of Gathered Bones by Eric Cline at Yellow Chair Review here ***
*** Review of Gathered Bones by Rachel Sahaidachny at Red Paint Hill here ***
*** "Not Getting to Know You." Interview with Jarrett Neal at Newcity here ***
*** Review of Gathered Bones by Spencer Dew at decomP here ***
*** Review of Gathered Bones by Jennifer MacBain-Stephens at Agape here ***
To order your SIGNED copy of Gathered Bones are Known to Wander, click the link below:
