Among the many delicate books I’ve recieved over past two months, one of them especially drew my interest for a number of reasons.
It was a poetry collection called “Blood Soaked Dresses” by Gloria Mindock, the woman who handles the editorial position of Istanbul Literature Review ever since she took over it. Another reason was the theme of the book- El Salvador Massacare.
In Blood Soaked Dresses, the poet tells the story in five beautiful and well organised chapters: The Atrocities, Countryside Thoughts, Hearts, Exile and Looking Back. What makes this collection this unique for me is that Gloria is literally living the story as she is telling it. The events on this 62 page-collection frequently give you shivers from up and down your spine and you are always a subject to a set of emotions.
In El Mozote she says:
Bones on the side of the path
are collected, put into sacks.
I want to grab them. Empty them
On the ground and make a pattern.
How many sacks must I have to do this?
This is like playing pick-up sticks.
And she further develops her thoughts in Knife:
I am in pieces.
I close my eyes and cry slowly as
to not flood myself.
On the rear cover, John Minczeski says “A poet must never shy from necessary, no matter how hard it is. In poetry, that is both elegant and brutal, Gloria Mindock exposes the horror of the Salvadorian conflict especially on women…” This is an idea any poetry reader in today’s world should definetely agree with. And that’s what she really mastered in the book.
Back to the poems, as a closing scene, in the final poem Hope she says:
Everything means something to me.
I store my own leaves
of darkness
so do not worry.
Death moves at a incredible speed
but I move faster.
So fast in fact, that the boundaries between us
Can only dream.
Blood Soaked Dresses has a documentary quality. The dreadful events took place in El Mozote is ot something to forget and with these set of poems, the picture grows more vivid than ever in our memories.
It was a poetry collection called “Blood Soaked Dresses” by Gloria Mindock, the woman who handles the editorial position of Istanbul Literature Review ever since she took over it. Another reason was the theme of the book- El Salvador Massacare.
In Blood Soaked Dresses, the poet tells the story in five beautiful and well organised chapters: The Atrocities, Countryside Thoughts, Hearts, Exile and Looking Back. What makes this collection this unique for me is that Gloria is literally living the story as she is telling it. The events on this 62 page-collection frequently give you shivers from up and down your spine and you are always a subject to a set of emotions.
In El Mozote she says:
Bones on the side of the path
are collected, put into sacks.
I want to grab them. Empty them
On the ground and make a pattern.
How many sacks must I have to do this?
This is like playing pick-up sticks.
And she further develops her thoughts in Knife:
I am in pieces.
I close my eyes and cry slowly as
to not flood myself.
On the rear cover, John Minczeski says “A poet must never shy from necessary, no matter how hard it is. In poetry, that is both elegant and brutal, Gloria Mindock exposes the horror of the Salvadorian conflict especially on women…” This is an idea any poetry reader in today’s world should definetely agree with. And that’s what she really mastered in the book.
Back to the poems, as a closing scene, in the final poem Hope she says:
Everything means something to me.
I store my own leaves
of darkness
so do not worry.
Death moves at a incredible speed
but I move faster.
So fast in fact, that the boundaries between us
Can only dream.
Blood Soaked Dresses has a documentary quality. The dreadful events took place in El Mozote is ot something to forget and with these set of poems, the picture grows more vivid than ever in our memories.
A big congratulations to my dear friend Gloria.
