Metaphors Attempted In Conversation with My Doctor, featured via Verse Daily
Sarah Stockton’s Scarecrow of My Former Self is a reclamation of visibility not just for Stockton’s speaker, but for all who have a chronic illness. These poems create a metaphorical scarecrow, a kind of spiritual scaffold on which to hang some hope. Like a conjurer, Stockton creates a world of desire crafted from “bloodied dancing shoes, a mask // and a sea green bathing suit…
Jill Khoury, Editor-in-Chief of Rogue Agent, author of EarthWork (Switchback Books); Suites for the Modern Dancer (Sundress Publications); and Chance Operations (Paper Nautilus).
With vulnerability and gorgeous, lush imagery, Sarah Stockton presents a portrait of a life not defined by illness, but circumscribed by it; a hybrid life of hospital visits and encounters with crystal healers, coyotes, iguanas. Stockton's poems of simultaneous rage and grace illuminate the realities of the chronically ill.
Jeannine Hall Gailey, author several books of poetry including: Flare, Corona, a Finalist for the WA State Book Award (BOA Editions), and Field Guide to the End of the World (Moon City Press)
The Scarecrow of My Former Self: poems of illness and grace is available from Bookshop.org (support independent bookstores!) and other big platforms.
You can also order via Sarah’s local Indie: Imprint Bookshop, and request a signed copy.
“Sarah Stockton’s THE SCARECROW OF MY FORMER SELF (MoonPath Press)—is a raw, unflinching collection about living with chronic illness. Brave in self-advocacy, tender in revolt, and the scarecrow: a metaphor for self-reclamation and renewal.” Susan Leary, poet and author of Dressing the Bear, (Trio House Press: winner of the Louise Bogan Award, 2024)
About Sarah
Poetry
River Mouth Review