Visceral and evocative, Vellum Leaves and Lettered Skins brings life to women of myth and fairytale in a way that is so painfully relatable for many. Much of the collection has an overarching narrative, blending several tales to represent the different stages of life our narrator goes through. The first third or so isn't as cohesive, but the poems were nonetheless poignant.

Abandonment, grief, and depression are common themes in this collection, I would recommend being in a good headspace before diving in. This one is for the women who want more, who feel like they don't quite fit, who have been told they are too much

Enjoyed this poetry collection from Colleen Anderson. All the poems were good, but my favorites were "Tower" and "Winter". Will need to find more from Colleen Anderson. #VellumLeavesandLetteredSkins #NetGalley

I’ve been reaching for more poetry this summer 🌿 there’s just something so comforting about quiet, lyrical reads that pair perfectly with a breezy afternoon and a shady spot outdoors 🌞📖🌱

Vellum Leaves and Lettered Skins is more than just a collection of poetry. Colleen Anderson has seamlessly weaved myth and fairytale into every line, creating poems that explore survival, transformation, and feminine power. What struck me most was how personal and creative this collection felt! I also loved spotting the little touches of nature threaded through each piece.
I’ve already pre-ordered my own copy and can’t wait to see this pretty cover irl🫶🏻

Visceral and evocative, Vellum Leaves and Lettered Skins is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold and windy night.
Easy to read in one sitting, it also contains various literary references that make the poems feel a bit like a treasure hunt.
The one thing I wasn't sure about was the direction it took in the second half. If anything, the book could have easily been split into two collections, as the second part didn't quite mesh with the first.

To start with, I don’t normally read poetry; it’s not really my thing. However, I love anything related to folklore and fairy tales, which this poetry collection was, so I was intrigued. It also had an absolutely amazing cover that drew me in.

The start and ending were amazing, but the middle did drop, and I struggled to follow along at parts. I was unsure if it was one story or separate poems, and I was unsure if this was intentional or not. However, all in all, these poems were raw, aching, and lyrical, and I’m glad I picked it up. No matter how many times I re-read, I found new depths and meaning that I hadn't before. I also liked how each poem echoed nature.

Colleen Anderson is a Canadian author writing fiction and poetry and has had two collections and over 300 poems published in such venues as Grievous Angel, Polu Texni, The Future Fire, HWA Poetry Showcase and many others. She is a member of HWA and SFPA and a Canada Council grant recipient for writing. She has performed her work before audiences in the US, UK and Canada and has placed in the Balticon, Rannu, Crucible and Wax poetry competitions. Colleen also enjoys editing and co-edited Canadian anthologies Playground of Lost Toys (Aurora nominated) and Tesseracts 17, and her solo anthology Alice Unbound: Beyond Wonderland was published by Exile Books. She has served on both Stoker Award and British Fantasy Award juries, and guest-edited Eye to the Telescope. Her latest collection of poetry is Vellum Leaves and Lettered Skins.



Vellum Leaves and Lettered Skins is, at its core, a retelling of the Rapunzel myth. Anderson infuses it with other folktales, such as Basille’s “Sun, Moon, and Talia” and Rumpelstiltskin, as well as historical figures and buildings, such as Lady Godiva or the cloigthithe of Ireland. While Anderson doesn’t add anything truly new to the various iterations of the tale, folks only familiar with the more common Grimm variant of the tale or the recent animated film will find Anderson's take unique and refreshing.



When the poems in this collection use the literary devices one would expect from a poetry collection (imagery, metaphor, meter, etc.), the poems are effective and tight. For example, these opening lines



Consider me a flower, a tree

a sacred fruit

some days, I am petals floating

others, in bloom burgeoning

smothering perfume



The day is honey-heavy with bees

sleep strokes my eyes in hazy heat

I doze and drone, abuzz with humming desires

until I hear: Rapunzel. Rapunzel.



Reading poems like these, it’s clear that Anderson knows her craft and prosody. The sounds that resonate though out this poem--alveolar fricatives dancing with long o and long e vowels—create a sonorous pleasure for the readers, lulling them in the very dozy feeling of the speaker. This is poetry doing what it’s supposed to do: affecting the reader physically while the words affect them intellectually. When Anderson allows her skill to show through, the poems are rich and successful.



Unfortunately, the collection is uneven, and many of the poems seem like filler. One gets a sense, both from reading the introduction to the collection as well as the end material, that this book was intended, originally, to be a much shorter project than its current iteration. Many of the poems seem to summarize previous poems, adding little to the collection beyond page length. Take, for example, poem “Full Circle,” which begins:

I am back where I began

was it all for nothing

I am empty, a circle round

unfilled sphere



These sorts of abstract lines read more like pop lyrics than poetry, and when held up against the standards that Anderson set for herself in other poems, read as weak and uncurated.



Overall, fans of horror poetry will probably find something to enjoy in this collection. Anderson is a talented poet whose mastery of craft and language shows through on many of these poems when she lets it. While the collection is uneven, there is enough here that readers of horror poetry will not be disappointed.

I was immediately drawn into this by the cover and title and was interested on the poetry within. While it was beautifully written and it was telling a story throughout some of the various poems, I couldn't quite get into it. I honestly felt I wasn't sophisticated enough to enjoy it fully. Because of the good reviews that did occur, it's probably more something I was struggling with so I'm still giving 3 stars, though I would truly give it 3.5.

3.5/5 stars

I was really enchanted at the beginning of this one; it roped me in and held me tight with how beautifully written these poems were, as well as unfolding a cohesive narrative. I loved the Rapunzel imagery of isolation, longing, and identity. It was emotional and beautiful, and there were moments that really hit me in the chest.


However, somewhere in the middle, I started to feel lost. The story structure unraveled, and I found myself unsure of whether I was following a thread or reading separate poems. I know this is a collection, but since parts read so much like a story in verse, the shift was jarring.

Toward the end, it picked back up again emotionally, though some tidbits were a bit disorienting. I also had the sense that the author is still finding her preferred poetic form. Some pieces flowed far better than others.

That said, some moments were really STUNNING, and those moments shone!

"I am the lone tree
in a rampant meadow
of raging splendor"

Vellum Leaves and Lettered Skins by Colleen Anderson is such a good story. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good.

I live for poetry. I make it a point to read at least one poem every day. I didn't go into this with any expectation (ngl, I just loved the cover) but what a lovely surprise. This is more than a collection of poems. It is a whole story with a narrative arc, it just happens to be broken down into poems that each stand on their own. Each poem is beautifully composed and dripping with familiar archetypes from myth and fairytale. This is the heroine’s journey, from a princess contained in a tower, ultimately always being to big, too much for the world trying to box her in.

Thank you Colleen Anderson for the ARC, what a treat, I plan on reading all over again.

While I did enjoy it, it didn't quite suck me in like I wished it would've. The poetry is good and it tells a story but there was something lacking that I can't quite pinpoint what. But others have enjoyed it so it's a personal thing and not a lack of ability from the author.

This is like a story in poetic form, medieval and indebted to that imagery. One day I wish to learn how to spell medieval without using spell check. But it's low on the list of words because there are so many others that I unfortunately use more often and should learn first. Isn't that crazy?

Thanks for the ARC

Thank you to NetGalley, RDS Press and Colleen Anderson for the ARC in exchange for this review. When I saw this opportunity on NetGalley I decided it would be a good opportunity to try something different and I am so pleased I did.

It's a gorgeous collection of poems that combine myth and fairytales, with nature and folklore, and twists it into an emotional and enlightening read.
As a fantasy fan it was a great way to read a different style of story telling.

A deep and enchanting blend of poetry and folklore.
The writer gave an artful voice to the women we know, love and fear from myths.
Creative, entertaining, feminine and dark...I loved it.

I just finished reading this book for the third time in as many days. The words and their meanings everchanging. This book is a song, a love letter to so many. I have never before read a book of poetry that tells a story, a story familiar yet entirely new. I will really admit that all, though I write poetry, I don’t generally read much of it, but I believe this beautiful book of prose has changed my direction forever. Each poem so filled with longing, dreaming, emotions and most of all an undying hope. I will forever treasure this new gem and my goal now will be to get other readers to broaden their horizons and read something new, something outside of our comfortable norms. I am now a new fan of Colleen Anderson and am just so grateful that I have found new love.

4. The poet does a great job linking the women of lore to the universal experiences of being a woman in our world. We all take this journey with Rapunzel. I love the texture of the words here, it is delicious to sink into them. The different forms are fun to read, I like the experimenting with words on the page. I do feel like the poet hasn't quite settled into a clear style though, that she is still looking for some form here. Overall, an enjoyable way to spend a summer morning.

This collection of poetry was an unexpected treat. Both heartbreaking and mesmerizing, I very much enjoyed Anderson's reframing of a classic tale, delving a bit more into the dark pools of emotion we know lurk among all of our experiences. I believe everyone finds a bit of something different in a poetry collection, and would definitely recommend to the fantasy fans who need a little break from 600+ page novels, but want the same vibes.

Special thanks to RDS Press and NetGalley for this Advanced Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, RDS Publishing, and Colleen Anderson for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a really interesting book of poetry. It was full of poetic tales. Some were based on fairytales and stories we know, and a lot of tales were completely new to me. I enjoyed the way the author added a bit of plant life to each poem. It was a lot of fun to try to spot the little nature bits. It was a very cozy read to enjoy with a warm mug of tea.