Full Moon of Afraid and Craving

A collection of poetry by Melanie Powers explores the complexities of faith, femininity, and family, navigating addiction, compulsions, and anxieties. It pays homage to the sense memories of a Roman Catholic millennial upbringing in Newfoundland, considering how we re-examine and consolidate our personal and civic pasts in times of crisis. The poems are wry and lighthearted, elegiac and plaintive, and embrace darkness to illuminate rays of moonlight.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 112 pages
Publication date: 15 April 2022
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press

A hometown serves as a storage facility for the past, a place where memories are kept. This book, with a darkly humorous tone, follows a young individual's journey through limited perceptions of faith, femininity, and family. It delves into the complexities of addiction, compulsions, and anxieties, exploring the strange interplay between wonder and longing that shapes a life. The poems span rural and urban landscapes, commemorating ordinary moments and everyday characters such as a roadside shopkeeper, a neighborhood linden tree, and a great-uncle's hooch. Through her exploration of lineage and inheritance, Melanie Powers uncovers the unsettling shadows that border joy. A series of ambivalent odes pay homage to the sense memories of a Roman Catholic millennial upbringing in Newfoundland, employing a winking, Proustian style. The long poem "The Fever and the Fret," written during the pandemic lockdown in Montreal, examines how we re-examine and consolidate our personal and civic pasts during times of crisis, drawing parallels to John Keats's confinement due to illness exactly two centuries prior. The voices in these poems exhibit control and confidence, reminiscent of the stars in the sky that are best observed at night. This collection embraces darkness to shed light on rays of moonlight, offering a unique and captivating perspective on the human experience.

Dimension: 191 x 127 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780228011064