Oliver Reed

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In Hannah Regel’s brilliant collection, the figure of the horse symbolizes the brutality of language and the subjugation of women’s voices, bodies, and labor. A hyperbolic pastiche of pleasurable misbehavior guides a girl named Sorry through her undoing while introducing new tools for calculated resistance. Regel crafts a new order from the wreckage of obedience, urging readers to embrace radical change. The collection showcases a unique poetic sensibility that defies convention, presenting pitiless, discomforting poems that explore our creatureliness with deadly curiosity. Each piece transforms its subjects: the actor becomes a strange muse, the horse transcends its role as an emblem of eros, labor, and suffering, and the young girl’s bratty insolence evolves into defiance. The voice in these poems actively wills change, even as it confronts its own barrenness. While the poems seduce and trouble, they also remain vigilant, offering a sense of protection. Regel’s work is an astonishing debut, masterfully blending discomfort with a fierce exploration of identity and resistance.