WHAT SMALL SOUND
by Francesca Bell
Bell’s second collection of poems offers a portrait of motherhood, devastation, and hope.
The author’s first collection of poems, Bright Stain (2019),was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award and the Julia Suk Award. Her newest book is a testament to her finely tuned poetic talent as she turns to grapple with far-reaching societal issues, including mental illness, gun violence, and sexual assault. More than anything, these works explore “the necessary work of opening” one’s self up to the world. The collection is split into four parts that weave together large-scale issues, such as domestic and societal violence against women, and individual challenges in the author’s exploration of deafness. The titular poem describes Bell in an audiologist’s booth attempting to wrestle with “the stillness out there strong / enough to suck me in.” Similar stillness is captured and preserved in poems that consider questions about protecting children from a cruel world and how one prepares loved ones, and oneself, to face life’s trials and unfair rules. Bell makes use of a wide variety of poetic structures to augment this analysis, which will keep readers on their toes. Her mastery of language yields such affecting lines as “your illness rummaged / inside you, digging, clawing, / sniffing for the sweetest parts.” Perhaps Bell’s greatest feat is her study of what is possible for a body in distress—how it can receive joy, what it can endure, and how far it can carry itself for love. Although the book is full of gut-wrenching loss, it makes room for indispensable moments of humor and hope. It offers poignant lessons on how to maintain strength amid sorrow and how one can find strength in quiet moments: “I want to feel what’s next / curled inside me.”
A moving and musical set of poetic works.