{"id":20451,"date":"2026-03-04T07:00:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T12:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?p=20451"},"modified":"2026-03-08T20:37:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T00:37:26","slug":"review-oversight-erasure-poetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-oversight-erasure-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Oversight: Erasure Poetry by Carina Bissett and Lee Murray"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oversight: Erasure Poetry <\/i>by Carina Bissett and Lee Murray<\/a>
\nRunning Wild Press (March 8, 2026)<\/strong>
\nReviewed by\u00a0Elizabeth Broadbent<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Poetry is a difficult beast. We authors often say that it\u2019s harder to write a great short story than a good novel. If that\u2019s true, great poetry is more difficult by far. Not only does condensation of theme and economy of language winnow to the level of a single word, but the limits of theme and the necessity of rhythm further force the writer\u2019s hand. Good poetry is hard. Great poetry is a life\u2019s work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So it was with both awe and appreciation that I read <\/span>Oversight: Erasure Poetry <\/span><\/i>by Carissa Bissett and Lee Murray (Running Wild Press, March 8, 2026 — International Women\u2019s Day). Talk about constriction of form — erasure poetry is akin to blackout poetry; both erase or drop words from an existing text, thereby creating a new poem and finding new meaning in the material. In <\/span>Oversight<\/span><\/i>, Bissett and Murray employ the technique thematically to discuss the erasure of women throughout history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Erasure poetry that talks about women\u2019s erasure. It\u2019s not only thematically appropriate, it\u2019s a brilliant concept, and <\/span>Oversight <\/span><\/i>lives up to its premise. In this sixty-poem volume, Bissett and Murray take turns distilling the words of women who contributed to or fought for women\u2019s rights — famous ones, including Margaret Sanger, Phyllis Wheatley, Zora Neale Hurston, Calamity Jane, Sappho; and women I didn\u2019t know, like Janet Frame, Huda Sha\u2019arawi, and Julia Balbilla. <\/span><\/p>\n

The book is divided into sections: Storyteller, Observer, Philosopher, Revolutionary, Recusant, Visionary, Explorer, and Feminist. Each section contains seven or eight erasure poems, each of which uses a text from the titled speaker; each poem is followed by a brief biography of the woman and an explanation of the text used. A stunning concept in which Bissett and Murray distill the texts down to a single reading, discovering kernels of essential truth about both writing and speaker.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nice technique, killer premise, and the writing rises to the occasion. While Bissett and Murray share authorship, their poems are attributed, creating a blend of styles which compliment and elevate both. I love Murray\u2019s work because she tends to formal styles, with a strong grasp of rhythm and thematics. I had never read Bissett before, and I was happy to find a new poet to follow, one who shares Murray\u2019s strong thematics and careful word choice. While she tends more toward the freeform than her co-author, Bissett\u2019s poetry rings with careful language and eloquent phrasing. Alone, they\u2019re two poets to watch; together, they\u2019ve created a book that carries a macrolevel of rhythm, rhythm, and theme.<\/span><\/p>\n

The sections are each prefaced with a crossword puzzle whose answers are the women contained in the subsequent pages. A lovely way to include the author in the book\u2019s creation, as well as demand that they summon their knowledge — and learn where their knowledge gaps lie. The puzzles also illuminate connections between each woman.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oversight: Erasure Poetry<\/span><\/i> is a joyous artistic shout, a miraculous work of feminism and discovered poetry. Those who skip forewords and afterwords be warned: These sections are as strong as the poetry, and the biographical sketches never fail to illuminate and surprise. This book merges art and education, feminism and poetry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a book that meets our current moment. In a world attempting to erase women, to send us back to the home and roll back our rights, <\/span>Oversight <\/span><\/i>sings. Our words are important. Our words are valuable. Bissett and Murray prove it here. Timely, beautiful, and much-needed. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oversight: Erasure Poetry by Carina Bissett and Lee Murray Running Wild Press (March 8, 2026) Reviewed by\u00a0Elizabeth Broadbent Poetry is a difficult beast. We authors often say that it\u2019s harder to write a great short story than a good novel. If that\u2019s true, great poetry is more difficult by far. Not only does condensation of … Continue Reading! “Review: Oversight: Erasure Poetry by Carina Bissett and Lee Murray”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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}},"categories":[80],"tags":[3651,3165,3590,3588,2083,79],"class_list":["post-20451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-carina-bissett","tag-elizabeth-broadbent","tag-lee-murray","tag-oversight-erasure-poetry","tag-poetry","tag-reviews"],"yoast_head":"\nReview: Oversight: Erasure Poetry by Carina Bissett and Lee Murray - 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