A Moment of Suspended Control

The following manuscript is a collection of poetic fragments exploring the effects of sexual violence and trauma on the body. This exploration is conducted through mythological and historical figures; most significant among these is ancient Roman woman Lucretia, who was raped by a son of the Roman king and subsequently committed suicide. Through Lucretia’s story, autobiographical fragments and other voices, the poems seek to posit alternate ways to think, see, and understand healing, although they don’t arrive at a straightforward conclusion. Rather, they circle around a violent act, traveling backward and forward in time, ultimately unable to free themselves from their orbit.