Blood Women - by Stephen Paul Wren (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Blood Women is a love story.

These poems introduce us to wonderful people using the most remarkable substance known to the human race: blood.

Stephen Paul Wren's stunning collection features 15 poems about family, heredity, and love.

Review Quotes

"Blood runs through this poignant collection, as lifeforce, as a biological fluid, and as an emblem for love.

There is reverence here, for the women in the poet's life, and compassion. He meditates about his daughters, about familial blood ties and the mystery of heredity, the 'spirals of life congealed in /my blood'. Memories of intense joy are mixed with grief. 'My heart is gapped'.

Behind all the poems lie the keen sensibilities of a scientist who sees more than most of us in our everyday physicality. 'Blood has universes inside its skin, / codes and expressions of us.' Lyricism comes clad in scientific terms. When the poet as a child sees his mother smile, he exclaims, 'I knew she was my calcium.' Through his stark and tender poetry, Stephen Paul Wren unravels the mystical truths of our biochemistry, and our humanity."

- Lesley Curwen, author of Rescue Lines, Hedgehog Poetry Press

"Stephen Paul Wren is quickly becoming one of my favourite contemporary poets, not only for his linguistic inventiveness that pairs science with soul, using technical terms to illuminate the art found in every atom, but also for his tenderness. Blood Women is an exquisite example of Wren's beautiful vulnerability, and his choice to use his talents to revere the women in his life is a moving, exceptional triumph. These poems also bite, bringing everything back to blood and all it symbolises - the sacrifice of birth and menses, of danger and violence, of caring for wounds, and the gentle, sometimes heartbreaking reminder that Wren's own blood is part of the legacy of the women before him, and those who come after. I cannot recommend Blood Women enough."

-Briony Collins, author of Ambergris, Barnard Publishing LTD

"Science meets poetry in Blood Women by Stephen Wren. In this pamphlet, the poet pays homage, with precise, beautifully scientific language, to the important women in his life: his grandmother, mother, daughters... The 'Blood Women' in these poems are portrayed with love, respect and a good dose of scientific curiosity: 'I want to see your DNA, learn its sequences' (Fists). The themes of heredity and grief are omnipresent; blood is not simply a source of DNA, it is a container for memory."

- Corinna Board, author of Arboreal, Black Cat Poetry Press

"In Blood Women, Stephen Paul Wren has wound together a delicate, potent DNA sequence of poems dealing with loss, love, inheritance and grief. Scientific detail is blood bonded with family life; the shock of sudden loss harmonises with memory and spirit. 'Blood has universes inside its skin, ' writes Wren. So too does this pamphlet, within its covers."

- Adam Horovitz, author of Slow Migrations, Indigo Dreams Publishing