Behind the Ghost Metropolis
by Annette Dabrowska
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Pub Date 18 Jan 2025 | Archive Date 27 Nov 2024
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Description
Fans of Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton and Charles Bukowski will find pieces of themselves in this edgy debut poetry collection.
I look right through the light
it fills me with courage and strength
to fight against my demons
I’m not alone anymore
I slowly stand up
Behind the Ghost Metropolis dives into the shadows of the mind—mental health, trauma, loneliness—but it also finds light in hope, travel, and resilience. Written during Annette's manic and depressive episodes, these poems are raw and deeply personal, reflecting her struggle with bipolar disorder and her fight to rise above the odds.
She wrote these poems to break the stigma around mental illness and to remind anyone feeling lost or defeated that there is always hope. This book is for those who’ve been knocked down, dragged through darkness, and still seek their own hidden light.
When writing, Annette draws inspiration from some of the greatest poetic minds in American and Polish contemporary poetry - Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Beatniks, Charles Bukowski, Edward Stachura, and Rafał Wojaczek.
Just like her favorite poets, she often finds herself in different dimensions of cruel whispers, far from the dreamland. But that's the price she pays for her creations, and she keeps writing because of this artistic force inside her heart and mind.
Advance Praise
""Annette's poetry is remindful of the confessional writers Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, and Robert Lowell, where the personal system struggles with psychological disorder.
Her intimate confessional wrestles with the Ferris wheel of emotions pouring through a divided self. In her autobiographical terrain—her ghost metropolis—she tussles with psychological demons—sometimes hallucinatory and dreamlike, in wry, conversational tones. Without warning, her erogenous language pulls the reader into scenes and characters that are natural iterations of her excursion into stream of consciousness. Throughout, and in a cumulative self appraisal, her creations are all about the hope and strength necessary to survive."" Barry Beckham
Available Editions
ISBN | 000B0DJWXBT9G |
PRICE | US$2.99 (USD) |
PAGES | 105 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
I find poetry collections can be quite tricky. They're generally even more personal than a novel so it's very much a taste thing.
That said, this entire collection just called to me. I felt like the feeling of not knowing where you belong or making all the wrong choices really resonated with me.
These poems made me feel and they made me feel seen. There's not a lot more I can say about them but I hope other people feel the same as I do about this collection.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
A hauntingly evocative exploration of mental health, trauma, and resilience, Behind the Ghost Metropolis journeys through the shadows of the mind while illuminating glimmers of hope. Dabrowska's prose is both lyrical and sharp, offering a raw and deeply personal collection of poems that feel like unfiltered glimpses into the poet’s soul. This blend of vulnerability and universal relatability makes the work profoundly moving and memorable.