GIVEAWAY & REVIEW: The Antigone Poems by Marie Slaight and Drawings by Terrence Tasker

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

Featuring poetry by Marie Slaight and charcoal drawings by Terrence Tasker, The Antigone Poems was created in the 1970’s, while the artists were living between Montreal and Toronto. An intensely personal invocation of the ancient Greek tale of defiance, the illustrations and poetry capture the despair of the original tale in an unembellished modernized rendition.   The Antigone Poems provides a special expedition into the depths of the ancient Sophocles tragedy while questioning  power, punishment and one of mythology’s oldest themes: rebellion.

To learn more about The Antigone Poems, please visit TheAntigonePoems.com. 

my thoughts:

Poetry is my jam; which is why I chose to share some of my favorite poems with you throughout April aka National Poetry Month.   So, imagine my excitement when I heard about The Antigone Poems ?  A book of  poems and illustrations centered on a character from Greek mythology - how awesome does that sound?  Extremely awesome to me.

Created in the 1970s, The Antigone Poems, feels timeless with its feminist bent on the retelling of Antigone's story.  A tale centered on rebellion and filled with darkness, pain, and despair.  In Sophocles' play, Antigone tries to bury her brother in a respectable place, but is punished due to the fact that it was against the law to even mourn for him.  She's locked away and found having hung herself.  Talk about tragic.  Through her poetry Slaight introduces us to the struggles and suffering that women endure via the character of Antigone.  She employs language in a way that is passionate, wild, and mesmerizing.  Her imagery is spellbinding.  I was truly riveted by Slaight's poetry.  As for Tasker's charcoal drawings - oh my!  They were haunting, emotional, and unforgettable.  His drawings enriched the somber tone of the book.  I swear the poetry and drawings went together perfectly! I absolutely loved The Antigone Poems.  Not only did I fall in love with Slaight's poetry and Tasker's drawings, but I am now interested in reading more of Sophocles' plays.  Perhaps I'll thrown in some of Euripides' plays as well.  Don't you just love it when one book inspires you to read another - that is truly the mark of a great book.  I would most definitely recommend The Antigone Poems to fans of poetry and Greek mythology - you will LOVE this book!


GIVEAWAY:  Thanks to the publisher, I'm able to give away ONE copy of The Antigone Poems.  So, if you want the chance to experience some truly great poetry, just leave me a comment telling me who your favorite poet is.  Don't forget to include your email address, so that I can contact you if your name is chosen.  Last date to enter is 5/20/2015.  Good luck!!!

Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: The Antigone Poems

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!