Daughter of the Sun
Published on 13. February 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
66 pages
978-1-915628-34-3 (ISBN)
Description
From the gentle rivers of Shropshire to the heat-baked seas of Greece, Daughter of the Sun radiates with mothers and tracks our orbits around them.
Split into two parts, a sonnet sequence recounts Spence's time reconnecting with her estranged mother - caring for her through illness and grieving her passing - before a bold rewriting of the myths around Medea reimagines her not as a murderous witch but a child-free scientist ahead of her time.
With the power and salve of the natural world always close by, Daughter of the Sun contends with being a mother and a daughter, and also what it means to liberate ourselves of those identities and write our own myths full of freedom and possibility.
Split into two parts, a sonnet sequence recounts Spence's time reconnecting with her estranged mother - caring for her through illness and grieving her passing - before a bold rewriting of the myths around Medea reimagines her not as a murderous witch but a child-free scientist ahead of her time.
With the power and salve of the natural world always close by, Daughter of the Sun contends with being a mother and a daughter, and also what it means to liberate ourselves of those identities and write our own myths full of freedom and possibility.
Reviews / Votes
"Spence's careful staging of an arduous, painful relationship is a poignant tribute." -- Dave CoatesMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Winnersh
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 129 mm
Width: 198 mm
Thickness: 8 mm
Weight
88 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-915628-34-3 (9781915628343)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Rachel Spence lives in London, Ludlow and Venice. Her poems explore themes including time, absence, motherhood and water. She has published three pamphlets: 'Furies' (Templar, 2016), 'Call & Response' (Emma Press, 2020), and 'Uncalendared' (Coast to Coast Journal Winner, 2023). Her debut collection 'Bird of Sorrow' (Templar, 2018) was highly commended in the 2019 Forward Prize. Her prose poem 'Venice Unclocked', in collaboration with photographer Giacomo Cosua, was published by Ivory Press in 2022. Her poetry has appeared widely, including in PN Review, The North, The London Magazine, 14 magazine and Tears in the Fence. Her non-fiction book 'Battle for the Museum', which explores the relationship between art, power and money, was published by Hurst in 2024.