Cora Greenhill’s Artemis: The People’s Priestess pulses with light, heat and movement. Just published by the wonderful Three Drops Press, the collection tells the ‘back story’ of Artemis: her power, sensuality and sexuality.
The poems chart Artemis’ growth through a series of dramatic poems, each spoken by a different character. At the heart of the collection is the relationship between Artemis and her childhood lover and soulmate, Kallisto.
The collection celebrates female sexuality and sensuality, and this wild energy drives the narrative, propelling the reader through the collection. Each poem is part of the wider dramatic narrative, but also stands alone on its own merit: carefully crafted and making deft use of rhyming couplets and dramatic dialogue. Like Tony Harrison’s translations of Greek Comedy, Artemis: the People’s Priestess restores the physicality and vibrancy of the original Greek myths, incorporating dance, rhythm and humour.
At the same time, Greenhill creates an Artemis who is warm and human – a goddess who speaks powerfully to the contemporary reader. This is a wonderful collection, and left me with the fire of Artemis in my belly.
Rachel Bower 