Horror So Real: Melancholia is a collection of dark poetry reflecting on real-life horrors

 

Melancholia: A Book of Dark Poetry

Sumiko Saulson

Bludgeoned Girls Press, 2024

Ebook, 95 ppg.

ISBN: 979-8990327719

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Collections of dark poetry can be about anything. They can be poems that are truly dark and disturbing, or they could be poems of dark things found in the real world. For Melancholia: A Book of Dark Poetry by Sumiko Saulson, it is both. Here readers will find dark poems of fictional creatures as well as dark poems about truly horrific events and goings-on that are in the real world, both past and present.

 

Not all of the poems in this book are dark, however. “The Doormouse Is Dreaming” is a cute poem. With descriptions of “Blankets and pillows/All covered with down” and “shallow waters puddle-wide.” I can almost picture the Doormouse dreaming while asleep, comfortably reclined on “handknit doilies.”

 

“The Child on the Lawn” was a sad poem to read. It reminded me of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old shot and killed by police when he was playing with a fake gun at a park. This poem is so profound, with lines like “Were there tears in his eyes/When he held his head down?” and “Now he's walking the streets/Though the guilty may hide/Their sanity is unwound/By the sound of his/Telltale Heartbeat.”

 

I loved how the poems “Replika, My Ex” and “Faceborg” explore our addiction with the internet/smartphones. Some of that addiction can be pretty terrifying, and there are no holds barred in these poems. These poems also touch on things many people fixated with this connection to artificial technology would understand.

 

I also liked the poems “The Queen of Death, Perplexed” and “The Melancholic Eye” and “Coachella Ghost.”

 

Many of the poems in this book are about real-life horrors as well as fictional horrors. Some of them are personal, while others are imaginative and dark. All of them are good poems and I enjoyed reading them.

 

Melancholia: A Book of Dark Poetry is an entertaining, thought-provoking collection of poetry that will leave readers with a sense of trepidation. Some of these poems will make readers think, while others offer reminders of how we cannot allow the injustices taking place in our society to continue. These poems are both haunting and depressing, leaving the reader with a lingering sense that perhaps it is time to do more to create change.

 

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Horrors Both Real and Imagined: The Rat King is a collection of dark poetry that sheds light on what society would rather ignore

 

 

The Rat King

Dark Poetry by Sumiko Saulson

DookyZines, 2022

ISBN-13: 979-8835153923

Ebook, 90 ppg.

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One thing a poet must do is bring to life what other people fail to see. And only a poet can put into the right words the civil injustices as well as the wrongs enacted against the marginalized communities. With The Rat King by Sumiko Saulson, readers will see just how well this can be done. Here is a collection of poetry from the perspective of one such person in one such marginalized community who is not afraid to speak up and bring to light the many kinds of negative actions inflicted upon them. Not only this, but this particular poet takes a stand against those who feel no qualms about being bigoted assholes, as well as speaking out against those who try to downplay their very identities.

 

There are the unreal horrors written about in this book, but also the real horrors. Real horrors of what BIPOC queer people endure under the current regime. One poem that shares this horror is “Mantra of the Oppressor.” It is strong and profound, echoing exactly what many BIPOC people, as well as those who are BIPOC queer, are currently going through. They are being told to be silent. To be quiet. Not to speak out against oppression. I liked the hashtag statement repeated in this poem, as though it is the speaker’s mantra in an attempt to try to stay calm and not lose their shit over what is happening and how it affects them.

 

The title poem “The Rat King” is not really so much about the actual Rat King of lore but a metaphorical Rat King that preys on the homeless/unhoused. I support helping the unhoused, so this poem made me angry over the prejudices and hatred spewed against those who are forced to live on the streets.

 

Another good poem in this book is “The Latency of Racism in Sunny California” which is on page 68. This poem stands out because it’s the reason why so many people are cutting off others who are acting racist. I know someone who ended a friendship with a person because he got fed up over this person’s constant use of the “n” word when referring to someone who is Black. We may have tolerated racism in the past but we cannot tolerate it anymore. And for a person who is Black and has to hear racist language that other people spew, it’s damging. As it says in the poem:

 

“Ignoring bigoted things you do

Is bad for my mental health

I am sorry you are so defensive

I didn't want to war

But your racist microaggressions

Are too consistent to ignore”

 

Plus, it says a lot about the people who DO tolerate racist language and behavior from others. You know, We CAN stand up against racism. We can end a conversation or leave a room or change the channel. Doing these things does not mean we are “sensitive” or a “snowflake.” It means that we won’t tolerate racism! Though the aggressor may not see it this way and just see our refusal to tolerate it as a sign of weakness, as the poem says here:

 

“If people don't go along with

Your racist bullshit

You tell us we have a thin skin

We have to suffocate on

All of your garbage

In an attempt to fit in”

 

But standing up against racism proves that we don’t agree that that sort of behavior or language is okay. It’s NOT okay. And we should not have to suffocate on it, either.

 

I really enjoyed reading all of the poems in this collection. They are strong, defiant, outspoken and powerful. There are many poems that bring to light topics and issues some people may not realize and that’s one of the remarkable qualities of these poems. They don’t just set right what was set wrong but they give a voice to what many people fail to see or understand. The poems in The Rat King say the things that others are not brave enough to say, making these poems a collection that will linger and make people think.

 

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Remembering the Lost Warriors: Dance of Necromance is a poetry book remembering the dead and fighting for the living

 

 

Dance of Necromance: Poetry Book of the Dead

Sumiko Saulson

Mocha Memoirs Press, 2026

ISBN-10: 1962353338

ISBN-13: ‎978-1962353335

Ebook, 72 ppg.

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For the people whose lives were cut short and wrongs have been done, writers take the time to honor them with words. Poets, too, use their craft to shed light on those we have lost as well as those whose cause must be kept alive. In the poetry collection Dance of Necromance: Poetry Book of the Dead by Sumiko Saulson, you will find poems that recognize them, remember them, and bring them to life within its pages. As ghosts, it is only fitting that they are included here in this book, a collection of poems about ghosts, haunted locations, and memories of lives lived.

 

There are poems in this book about those no longer among the living, such as a cat who once belonged to the author and a dancing Chihuahua named Coco (Cha-Cha). There is a poem about the late author Anne Rice as well, which I enjoyed reading.

 

But more importantly, there are poems that remember those in the LGBTQ community who are also no longer among the living, such as Matthew Shepard and Sylvia Rivera. Some are named and others are not in these poems; they are all remembered collectively. You will find them in various poems, either by mention or in entire poems dedicated to their memory, such as with the poem “Never Forget We Bled.”

 

“The Haunted Streets of San Francisco” is another poem I really enjoyed reading. It opens with this very intriguing stanza:

 

“When tourists come to visit San Francisco

Some of them find it a spirited place

More ghosts are found here than dancers at a disco

They add to our mystique and Victorian grace” (Page 25)

 

The poem “Death of the Artist” on page 68 is profound. I love this poem. It reminds readers to never forget those feminist, queer, and Black voices from the past who spoke out against racism, homophobia, and oppression. I like these lines especially:

 

“Dark poetry is a broader field

Than bigoted old dead white men

And includes feminist voices such as

Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson

 

Phillis Wheatley cries out from the grave

A voice of resistance among the enslaved

Speaking for a vast graveyard of the unknown

Over a dusty tome of pauper's bones

 

Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes

And folks who used to sing the blues

Ancestors whose oral storytelling taught

The finer points of suspense and plot

 

Audre Lorde and James Baldwin,

Queer poets of the revolution,

Spoke out against racism, homophobia

And other wicked institutions”

 

“Ghostly Muse” is another good poem, and one which touched on something I have often wondered about. Have there been ghosts reading right along with us? Have ghosts influenced writers and artists? And what history a ghost would carry with it! There’s so much that can be learned there and investigated. Unfortunately for us, however, we can only wonder and speculate over such things.

 

Dance of Necromance is a collection of poetry that will delight and entertain readers who enjoy reading horror and paranormal poetry. Combined with poems that explore the current political turmoil as well as stories of experiences in relation to current events, these poems are a voice for the voiceless as well as the endangered and oppressed. With poems honoring those no longer with us as well as poems pleading to never forget the crimes committed against marginalized people, this collection of verse stands out as one which will touch readers, incite calls for action, and create a sense of appreciation for those voices that can only exist in memory.

 

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.