Twisted Velvet Chains by Jessica Bell–A Review

I’m so honored to present to you my thoughts of author, blogger, and musician, Jessica Bell’s poetry collection, Twisted Velvet Chains!

I “met” Jessica through her blog, The Alliterative Allomorph. I’m continually blown away (in a good way) by her insights, humor, and talent for writing. (And musicians are just cool, right?) 😉

Anyway, while reading Twisted Velvet Chains, I was struck by the picture Jessica paints with words and phrases. In a lot of ways, I could feel myself falling into the emotions, thoughts, and turmoil of the poems. Watching the progression from childhood to adulthood evoked anger, tension, a sense of injustice, and sorrow in me.

I don’t write this to turn you away from the book, not at all! I point it out because very few things strike me so strongly. When it happens, I recognize it for what it is: a sign of incredible talent, bravery in the face of vulnerability (it takes a hell of a lot of guts to expose yourself on paper for all to see), and the mind of someone who’s been through a lot, but continues to strive and survive.

Here’s a blurb I found on Jessica’s webpage (really, it’s so accurate, that I can’t say it better myself!):

Twisted Velvet Chains is a collection of poems which follows the experiences of one woman growing up with a bipolar, drug addicted, gothic musician mother. Each poem represents specific moments of their life that embrace vivid rich imagery, and illustrate the turmoil of emotions both experience while together. The collection is divided into four parts that flow one into the other from childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and post-death.

Thanks, Jessica for sharing this work. Definitely worth the read!

It’s Wednesday, so don’t forget to check out Sarah’s response to Deb’s question about the muse, personified!