Bearing the Juice of It All, by Nancy Lynée Woo, is a poetry chapbook that invites the reader on a daring exploration of developing womanhood. These poems engage a loose narrative voice grounded in emotion, pulled forward by relentlessly imagistic language that blurs the lines between dream logic and waking states, mythology and modernity, expectations and reality. The collection questions where the locus of sight is--in her body or his? Reaching into the crevices of a maturing female psyche, the poetic arc probes into themes of sexuality and motherhood, abuse and transformation, abortion and partnership, independence and sisterhood, love and family--all ensconced in the poet's incorrigible optimism and dedication to healing. While these poems may lead into dark alleys, they emerge to illuminate the belief that women are inherently imbued with the right to direct their own bodies, thoughts, voices, and desires.
