Flowers as Mind Control

"This is the magnificent story of ruining things, weeping bottles, flying tuna-fish sandwiches," writes Minor in her panoramic debut that explores setting (mostly Florida), relationships with men and women, illness, friendship, depression, and suicidal ideation. Its dedication "to women everywhere who refuse to give up their dreams" signals the collection’s interest in resilience, a theme that’s powerfully captured in the final poem, "Manifesto for the New World": "For women who fall down in the dark and lift with dawn/ For children biting their lips in war’s opened cage… I am your water, your bandaged healer." There are striking images throughout, such as when Minor observes, in "To Be Alone Is a Gift": "the blue sky has always been the online stuff of birds." In other moments, a habit of describing emotional experiences with military metaphors (land mines and advancing tanks, among others) feels slightly too familiar. Some of the best poems draw from allusions to cultural figures, such as Jeff Buckley or Esther Williams, and a particularly strong elegy inspired by the punk rock band Rites of Spring, "For Want of You," finds the rush of that "luminous scholarship of the stars." Readers will enjoy Minor’s fierce, unabashed voice. (Nov.)