Every Poem a Potion, Every Song a Spell, by Stephanie Parent
Review by Joe Haward September 2022
Published by Querencia Press, LLC, Chicago Illinois
5/5
The French literary theorist and anthropologist, René Girard, argued that the desire of something grew in proportion to the resistance met with acquiring it; desire and unattainability are intimately bound together. Fairy tales, perhaps better than any other form of story and myth, powerfully remind us of the complexities and dangers of desire, whilst also breaking our hearts open as to the very human nature of our longings.
In Every Poem a Potion, Every Song a Spell, Stephanie Parent invites the reader into the world of fairy tales, to experience the magic, realism, and desire these stories pull us into.
Parent reminds the reader that beyond the Disney retellings, fairy tales have a rich history, the originals stories often far darker, and packed full of meaning. Yet many people are unaware of where Disney so often draws its inspiration, nor of the power fairy tales have in telling us about the human experience, especially the experiences of women. As Parent notes, “. . . fairy tales were stories traditionally told by and to women, reflecting and sometimes questioning standards of femininity, whispering secrets about how to survive real-life beastly husbands and evil stepmothers between the lines of an imagined tale.”
Every Poem a Potion, Every Song a Spell is made up of thirty-seven poems. Below the title of each poem is included the name of its fairy-tale inspiration with the hopes that some readers might search out the stories they have never read, or perhaps forgotten. This is a nice touch. Not only does it help the reader locate the meaning of each poem in relation to the original tale, it also opens up a world of new meaning. And meaning flows with abundance throughout this collection, especially the meaning of desire.
“Red Hood in the Woods” is a wonderful example of this theme of desire, bound up in a fairy tale, fused with modern meaning and setting, capturing the power of what it means to be a woman in a patriarchal world.
“Poissonnier,” based upon The Little Mermaid, wrestles with what it is to love and be loved, and what desires look like when woken ‘from their slumber’. Like each poem within this collection, “Poissonnier” pulls you underneath the waves of your own emotions and desires, reminding you of those things that are often lost within the mundane and ritual of everyday life.
This is where Parent excels, drawing upon the stories and images of forgotten tales and half-remembered fables, and using them to remind you of your own human desire, pain, joy, and hope. Throughout this collection each poem rings with the touch of a master.
Parent understands how to bind together language, story, and meaning in order that the poetic form can flourish. These are not simply words upon a page, but the longings of what it means to be human given a chance to fly.
You can find Stephanie Parent at their website here or on Twitter here.