Girlhood x A Haunting

In Jessica Rae Bergamino's full-length poetry book Girlhood x A Haunting, the reader carries Nancy Drew's magnifying glass through a lyrically experimental and visually evocative collection that uncovers the traumas lurking in girlhood. Bergamino is a master of the persona poem, speaking through the voice of Nancy Drew and letting the mask slip to expose the real speaker who is experiencing and surviving childhood trauma, and the woman who is trying to understand. In this visually rich collection, artistic representations by cover artist Io Wuerich of personal photographs, and concrete and experimental poetic forms, are utilized to encourage the reader to engage in a deeper investigation of the clues laid down by the speaker. This book is also about the complex task of interrogating memory. It asks how to make sense of childhood memories and the cultural icons underpinning larger understandings of the past and gender by speaking directly to, through, and about Nancy Drew and other characters in her universe. This book, winner of Driftwood Press's Editors' Pick Prize, is for fans of Nancy Drew, for those who have experienced trauma, and for lovers of experimental poetry. Girlhood x A Haunting is a reclamation of the self, and of the stories that become linked to identity.