Just to the Right of the Stove

"Sylvia Plath - an iconic female figure in literary lore - endured a tragic existence, which sadly ended at the age of just thirty, in 1963. Clinically depressed for most of her adult life, she suffered from insomnia, domestic abuse, and several suicidal episodes. Plath was a mother in turmoil, a tortured soul battling her beast of burden. She ended her days by putting her head in the oven and turning up the gas. A bright star snuffed out when it there was so much more left to shine. The fact that she achieved all she did in her short life is remarkable.




That said, her experiences, sadly, are not unique. Elisabeth Horan, somewhat kindred in spirit, is a survivor. Her new collection, Just to the Right of the Stove - a deep, sometimes dark, always sincere imaginary dialogue with her much lauded peer, is proof that one's suffering can be anesthetised with art. It is a collection that could only be written from a survivor's perspective; deeply introspective and brutally honest, Horan leaves no layers left unpeeled. It is a tribute to her fallen hero, a means to rationlise her own guilt and failings as a mother and human being without the sanctimonious bullshit that often permeates such confessions, and an example of a very powerful and commanding voice in the poetry world today. It is Horan's best work to date, and a piece that Plath would surely esteem." - Paul Robert Mullen