Kissy Killy & Pretty Scary

by Vox Anon

Two volumes of poetry, Kissy Killy and Pretty Scary, are brought to you by the unnamed author, Vox Anon, who has previously released a volume entitled The Unicorn Man.

Both these volumes showcase self-contained poems, whose main focus revolves around highly charged sexual imagery at times infused with familiar archetypes. Predominant themes at play in both of these texts are those of love -- not the light-hearted, fluffy kind of love, but more like the sado-masochistic heavy metal kind of love, if one is left to judge by the lines of "Cherry Pitted" from Kissy Killy: "fissures cracks sweat whips screams tears gages wires icky goo."

Even the cover photo of the Starchild skull that graces Pretty Scary has sexual overtones when viewed through the lens of Vox Anon's poetic offerings, such as "Jealous Of The Cup" in which the cup is a metaphor for a woman's vagina, coupled with the phallic "ivory tower."

These sorts of metaphors abound, along with biblical references scattered here and there (such as the reference to the "scapegoat" in Kissy Killy's "Eaten By Doves," which in this case appears to be an allusion to the Lamb of God). The rhythm and force of the poems have the feel of modern-day rock music. There is no greater, underlying narrative apparent to this reader, other than an artist's attempt to make sense of himself as a spiritual creature who at turns struggles with the union and alienation of a sexual relationship -- a sexual relationship gone bad.

Buy Kissy Killy here.

Buy Pretty Scary here.

Reviewed by Martin Rose

Martin Rose lives in New Jersey, where he writes a range of fiction from the fantastic to the macabre, holds a degree in graphic design, and enjoys blurring the line between art and life. Look for his work in Murky Depths Issue 17 and Art From Art anthology from Modernist Press. More details are available at www.MartinRoseHorror.com.