The Loop

June 2001

 

The Chick at the Back of the Church

by Billie Livingston

Nightwood Editions, Harbour Publishing

$16.95

 

First making her name with her debut novel, Going Down Swinging, Livingston returns with her first solo collection of poetry. Divided into six sections, the poems deal with childhood memories, love, sex, and a lot of heartache. These are narrative poems with good energy, told in plain yet powerful language, offering concrete images for us to chew over long after the last line has been read.