Author: Rachel Hunt Steenblik
Title: I Gave Her a Name
BCC Press, 2019. Poetry collection, illustrated by Ashley Mae Hoiland
Reviewed by Erin Cowles, Oct. 29, 2019
This was a fascinating collection. In some ways, I feel like Hunt Steenblik and Hoiland create their own genre here. I wouldn’t call most of it poetry in the conventional sense (although there are some truly lovely poems here), but more of a quilt of ideas, moments, meditations, and images that are tied together in the same way the kinds of poetry collections I enjoy reading are. And I found this approach more effective for what they are seeking to accomplish than longer-form poems would be, because each meditation strove to capture one small moment or concept, and I love the way the form captures that if I go through life open to these little moments of truth and divinity, each little point can add up into something robust and powerful. It made me want to go through life seeking those little moments.
I was also fascinated by the way the authors kind of flipped the way we look at Divine Nature in many of the poems and images. When it comes to God the father, we have a chunk of documented traits we can track back to (I.e. God is patient, so when I am patient, I am channeling that aspect of my divine nature). But the record is thinner for God the mother. The authors look for the sparks of divinity they see in the women and world around them, and see what it can teach them about Her. It can be a rather subjective process, and I can’t say I always agreed with the interpretations, but wow, did it make me consider things from different angles, and make me consider what I can learn about Her from the women that have shaped me.
I should also note that if you know this collection is your kind of book, and you are debating whether the color edition is worth it, I’ll put it out there that I wish I had gone for it. Color is so important in Hoiland’s work, and I think the images play a larger role in the narrative than the previous collection. I can tell I missed something by only seeing the images in black and white. But I am glad BCC Press made a more affordable edition available, because I don’t think I would have splurged on the full color, and I would have missed a lovely reading experience.