From Claire C. Holland, a timely collection of poetry that follows the final girl of slasher cinema – the girl who survives until the end – on a journey of retribution and reclamation. From the white picket fences of 1970s Haddonfield to the apocalyptic end of the world, I Am Not Your Final Girl confronts the role of women in relation to subjects including feminism, violence, motherhood, sexuality, and assault in the world of Trump and the MeToo movement. Each poem centers on a fictional character from horror cinema, and explores the many ways in which women find empowerment through their own perceived monstrousness.
Seeing that the world is currently a shit show full of living horror, I’ve taken a long break from my love of horror films and books. I’ll occasionally pull out a trusty Stephen King book – something as safe as milk and cookies. But none of that gritty, dark goodness I really love. For the most part, I’ve been focused on my own writing, trying to find a space to create where I don’t feel guilty for not constantly fighting the patriarchy or not having my eye on a certain human troll’s Twitter account (lest we all die in inevitable nuclear destruction). It seems wrong to enjoy anything particularly dark when so much bad is going on already. Why get lost in fiction when there’s endless true crime on Netflix? That’s better, right? (Hint: sarcasm). And horror hasn’t exactly been feminist or woke in the past – from the black guy dies first trope to an endless stream of virgins running through the woods from serial killers/monsters. It’s been sex + slaughter + violence against women since forever. Horror, like porn, is often made for men. Not anymore. Having finally made a space to enjoy horror again, I had the pleasure of reading True Crime by Samantha Kolesnik, Cockblock by C.V. Hunt and several other authors brought to my attention by the #WIHM (Women In Horror Month) tag on twitter. To my surprise, I still love to get lost in morbid, dark, terror-tales.
Poetry in horror was not something I’d ever really thought about until I picked up a copy of Claire C. Holland’s feminist poetry book I Am Not Your Final Girl. It’s a nod to the last girls standing in horror films. Forty poems named after characters in slashers and horror films are split into four sections: Assault, Possession, Destruction, and Transformation. Each poem gives us a new perspective of our favorite horror heroines. Before I finished the introduction, I knew my abstinence from the genre had been a waste. Like Kolesnik and Hunt, Holland shares my concerns about the current state of everything from racism to #MeToo. Women in horror feel the stress and heavy weight of smothering patriarchy and are choosing to express those frustrations through writing. Holland offers up a deeper, re-imagining of these female characters. They are often written one-dimensional, never having time to slow down and question what’s really going on around them. Holland gives us a closer glimpse of what is going on inside these women, not just the abuse that’s being inflicted on them. Mirroring society these female characters know what’s happening. And isn’t that even more terrifying? Before they were just running. Now they know the demon chasing them.
It was hard not to search out my favorite girls: Carrie, Mary and Rosemary to name a few. I’ll also be watching a few new (to me) films: The Neon Demon (2016), Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), Honeymoon (2014) are at the top of my list. My favorite poems were “Jesse” (The Neon Demon) and the line from “Laurie” (Halloween) – “White fences are only made of wood, they splinter so easily.” And “India” (Stoker) – “she remembers the sound of his snapping neck, how it felt like power.”
Yes. Yes. Yes.
I definitely recommend picking this one up. I look forward to reading more by this author.
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