The Porcupine of Mind
The best revenge is writing really well. So we are gifted with these witty timely poems. This is about tearing apart, the misbelieving in such process and pain; and the artistic stitchery that makes things whole. These are muscular words of intelligent humor and tenacity.Grace Cavalieri --The Washington Independent Review of Books, August 2012Reading the poetry of Katerina-Stoykova Klemer is like experiencing a personal retreat. In her latest collection,The Porcupine of Mind, the reader lingers, giving oneself over to stillness and listening as the narrator thoroughly examines the everyday, lifting it to high awareness. Stoykova-Klemer writes from a deeply internal perspective, sometimes humorous, sometimes serious and intuitive.Mary Popham --The Courier-Journal, Louisville KYKaterina Stoykova-Klemer uniquely melds Bulgarian and American language and culture in her poems, which is no easy feat. However, like all other difficult themes in her work, she honestly confronts both the personal and poetic struggles and joys of writing poetry (and living) in two languages - "They say the tongue you become a poet in is the one which can never tell a lie."It is this multicultural and bilingual aspect of her verses that gives the poet her singular voice and style. ThePorcupine of Mindis an assortment of poems that transform simple muses - suitcase, lullaby, snowman, Hula-Hoop, sobriety - into profound and imaginative philosophies: "How did you get to be so beautiful? I asked the word cynical. How did you get to be so stupid? she answered."Moreover, the collection is filled with aesthetically intricate poems, many displaying a level of playful curiosity and whimsy while also remaining buoyant in their metaphysical musings: "The broken-off handle of the drawer is in the drawer." Most interesting is Stoykova-Klemer's ability to anthropomorphize inorganic objects until they converse and prophesy on topics that hold the most depth and significance to humans. One example is a poem about a row of candles in a store window that prompts the poet to ask, "Which one of you skinny ladies wants to burn in the name of love?" Many of the poems inThe Porcupine of Mindare concerned with the locked door beneath the skull, so much so that the collection manifests itself as a profound exploration of the human psyche, how it processes love, friendship, guilt and regret. Stoykova-Klemer cleverly cautions, "it's dark out, but curious things can be found" in the labyrinth of her poetry, if readers "dare to go there."Journey McAndrews -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --Kentucky Monthly Magazine