Amphetamine Heart
by Liz Worth
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date Sep 15 2011 | Archive Date Sep 01 2012
Guernica Editions | Guernica Editions Inc
Description
Amphetamine Heart was pulled together from old journal entries and pieces of dreams. It leans on destructive emotions and relationships with people, places and substances, a lot of which is reflected in the discomfort with, and abuse of, the body that threads through these pieces. Worth makes poetry that is a little bit punk rock, a little bit heavy metal and a lot personal.
Amphetamine Heart is published as part of Guernica’s First Poets Series, which features first full poetry collections by writers 35 and younger.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781550713435 |
| PRICE | $13.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 60 |
Average rating from 2 members
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 27725
Quick review for a quick read. Liz Worth's "Amphetamine Heart" is a collection of poetry divided into four sections, describing something of a trippy exhaultation with the backing of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I liked some of the on-point descriptions of moods, tripped out euphoria, and at times somber descents. Reading this feels like you're wading through a haze of emotions and following the speaker through these undulating turns of bright and dark, leaning very heavily on the latter. But admittedly, I can't say that this collection of poetry stuck with me as much as I would've liked in places. The first few sections of poems didn't really do much for me apart from just appreciating how they tied together, but as I went through the collection, the third and fourth sections brought forth some gems that managed to resonate with me and bring the piece together in a fine way.
The opening lines of "Goat Horn" were among a few that caught my attention (and this might've been my favorite piece in the collection, as featured in the third section of the work):
"The morning is a marvel of dehydration and swollen lids,
blood vessels daring to drain the iris."
I love vivid lines like that, dark yet put you right in the moment and mood of the piece.
The titular poem, "Amphetamine Heart" was also a standout poem, featured in the fourth section "Oral Fixations". As featured from the second stanza:
"I had spent a summer tattooing tarot visions to my palms.
They couldn't make me see.
My muscles stung with the pins of a cat's eye;
I craved decay, fed from ash and wine."
I also loved "The Sequence of Equation" and "Machinations" as featured within the work. Overall, it makes me curious to see what other works Liz Worth has in the realm of poetry, though I think while the collection manages to be cohesive for theme and mood, the flow and strength of the material felt like it could've been stronger and less abrupt in places.
Overall score: 3/5 stars.
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
