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Depending on the Light
By Thea Hillman
Thea Hillman is one of San Francisco's fiercest performance poets, and Depending on the Light is her newest collection of poetry and short fiction.
With wit, thoughtfulness, and eroticism, this page-turner reads the way your favorite album sounds, with images and nuances that reverberate in your mind long after the book has been closed.
The book is divided into five distinct sections, each introduced by a haiku.
The themes run the gamut from revenge ("Jesse's Girl") and family to the virtues of self-love ("Home Alone") and changing the world. In one piece, "Poor Mom/Me," she explores the intricate bond between mothers and daughters. As she and her mother clean her recently deceased grandmother's apartment, she realizes the line between her mother's suffering and her own grief has bled into one another: "crying for Mom seems like crying for myself. I feel for her so much that it hurts me. I adore her, I idolize her."
Her performance pieces hold their own on the page, barreling with the same fever as her live performances. My personal favorite is "Home on the Range," about her literary travels across the U.S. capturing the swoon and passion of being on the road. "Rock star skin sticks hard: After the trip I would wake every day and wonder how far I had to go, what city I was performing in that night." Thea Hillman wants to take you along on that journey and all you have to do is hop on. CHERYL B.
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