{"id":17731,"date":"2023-04-03T07:00:19","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T11:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?p=17731"},"modified":"2023-03-26T22:54:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T02:54:57","slug":"review-numinous-stones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"17732\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/numinous_stones\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/numinous_stones.jpg?fit=178%2C284&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"178,284\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"numinous_stones\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/numinous_stones.jpg?fit=178%2C284&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-17732\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/numinous_stones.jpg?resize=178%2C284&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"cover of Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath\" width=\"178\" height=\"284\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aqueductpress.com\/books\/978-1-61976-244-2.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Numinous Stones <\/i>by Holly Lyn Walrath<\/a><br \/>\nAqueduct Press (April, 2023)<br \/>\n98 pages, $10 paperback<br \/>\nReviewed by Joshua Gage<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Numinous Stones<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a collection of speculative pantoums, a form derived from the Malay verse <em>pantun berkait<\/em>, which is a form of interwoven verses of alternating lines. This is a difficult form to accomplish, as the repeated lines need to seem fresh each time the reader encounters them, but also echo back to the previous stanza. The tightly entwined stanzas, when executed well, create a rhythmic and incantatory experience for the audience, hypnotizing them in a sonic spell.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Readers, if you read <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Numinous Stones<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, be prepared to be hypnotized.\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Holly Lyn Walrath has tapped into some dark subjects in these poems, and views them through a distinctly speculative lens. For example, the poem \u201cA Graveyard for Fairytales,\u201d begins with the lines:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A child hangs upside down from the barrel of a cannon<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In here, the air is bright and stale or else poisonous<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A princess crawls among the flowers and grenades<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everything here is twisting or untwisting into itself<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Readers are given a haunting metaphor of childhood and, later in the poem, Walrath even writes \u201cIn the deep of the well, death unbraids his hair\/But this is the ruthless dream of a frightened child.\u201d The layered metaphors in this poem, combined with the rich imagery, create a haunting experience for readers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Furthermore, Walrath uses her poetry to weave socio-political critiques that build off the rich imagery that permeates this collection. For example, the poem \u201cThe Devil Kisses My Skinned Knees\u201d has lines like<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Her eyes are like opals cut open<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Men are a sea of dysphoria<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who knew hellfire could be so cleansing?<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They paint their skin the color of hate<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which is a striking critique of patriarchal systems. The expressionist images unsettle the reader well past the reading of the poem and will gnaw at them well into the night, past the time the book\u2019s covers have closed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overall, this is a striking collection of poetry. It\u2019s a rich and layered collection that taps into mythic, albeit nightmarish, images, twisting and weaving them into dense, multi-layered gems. Walrath is a skilled practitioner at poetry, and fans of horror poetry will thoroughly enjoyed her newest collection, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Numinous Stones<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath Aqueduct Press (April, 2023) 98 pages, $10 paperback Reviewed by Joshua Gage Numinous Stones is a collection of speculative pantoums, a form derived from the Malay verse pantun berkait, which is a form of interwoven verses of alternating lines. This is a difficult form to accomplish, as the repeated &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/\" class=\"more-link button bg-gold white\">Continue Reading!<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Review: Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[80],"tags":[2876,506,2875,2083,79],"class_list":["post-17731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-holly-lyn-walrath","tag-joshua-gage","tag-numinous-stones","tag-poetry","tag-reviews"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review: Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath - Cemetery Dance Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Joshua Gage reviews Holly Lyn Walrath&#039;s poetry collection Numinous Stones, exclusively for Cemetery Dance.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cemetery Dance Online\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cemetery Dance Online\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61\"},\"headline\":\"Review: Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-03T11:00:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":383,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/numinous_stones.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Holly Lyn Walrath\",\"Joshua Gage\",\"Numinous Stones\",\"poetry\",\"Reviews\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/\",\"name\":\"Review: Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath - Cemetery Dance Online\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/numinous_stones.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-03T11:00:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61\"},\"description\":\"Joshua Gage reviews Holly Lyn Walrath's poetry collection Numinous Stones, exclusively for Cemetery Dance.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/numinous_stones.jpg?fit=178%2C284&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/numinous_stones.jpg?fit=178%2C284&ssl=1\",\"width\":178,\"height\":284,\"caption\":\"cover of Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/review-numinous-stones\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reviews\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/reviews\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Review: Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cemetery Dance Online\",\"description\":\"Free Horror Reads, News, Interviews, Comics, and More!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61\",\"name\":\"Cemetery Dance Online\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18103e6727693901d2722149c60f9ba733e3aed66126d844f9b43b26a6496345?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18103e6727693901d2722149c60f9ba733e3aed66126d844f9b43b26a6496345?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18103e6727693901d2722149c60f9ba733e3aed66126d844f9b43b26a6496345?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Cemetery Dance Online\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Review: Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath - Cemetery Dance Online","description":"Joshua Gage reviews Holly Lyn Walrath's poetry collection Numinous Stones, exclusively for Cemetery Dance.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cemetery Dance Online","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/"},"author":{"name":"Cemetery Dance Online","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/#\/schema\/person\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61"},"headline":"Review: Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath","datePublished":"2023-04-03T11:00:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/"},"wordCount":383,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/numinous_stones.jpg","keywords":["Holly Lyn Walrath","Joshua Gage","Numinous Stones","poetry","Reviews"],"articleSection":["Reviews"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/","name":"Review: Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath - Cemetery Dance Online","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/numinous_stones.jpg","datePublished":"2023-04-03T11:00:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/#\/schema\/person\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61"},"description":"Joshua Gage reviews Holly Lyn Walrath's poetry collection Numinous Stones, exclusively for Cemetery Dance.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/numinous_stones.jpg?fit=178%2C284&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/numinous_stones.jpg?fit=178%2C284&ssl=1","width":178,"height":284,"caption":"cover of Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-numinous-stones\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reviews","item":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/reviews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Review: Numinous Stones by Holly Lyn Walrath"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/","name":"Cemetery Dance Online","description":"Free Horror Reads, News, Interviews, Comics, and More!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/#\/schema\/person\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61","name":"Cemetery Dance Online","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18103e6727693901d2722149c60f9ba733e3aed66126d844f9b43b26a6496345?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18103e6727693901d2722149c60f9ba733e3aed66126d844f9b43b26a6496345?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18103e6727693901d2722149c60f9ba733e3aed66126d844f9b43b26a6496345?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Cemetery Dance Online"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/"]}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p81cXa-4BZ","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17731"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17733,"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17731\/revisions\/17733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}