Ending the War on My Body

Poet Katherine McClintic was not kidding when she titled her new poetry collection Ending the War on My Body. Though her verses are often playful and quick, with both internal and external rhymes that cry out for crying aloud, the subject matter is neither. Less flippant than flip-the-table furious, this memoir-of-the-body told in poems begins in an agony of self-hate and confusion. The poet questions and doubts the lessons she is taught about her body even as she is force-fed them, and the taste of those pages is bitter and full of bile. But the arc of McClintic's personal war narrative-however bellicose, however jagged-leads ultimately toward victory: and therein, the extraordinary. Tenderness is McClintic's victory condition; 'victoriousness over all the viciousness.' What begins in misery ends in celebration, even elation. Even, as the poet herself might call it, 'a feast.' -C. S. E. Cooney, Rhysling Award-winning poet, and author of Dark Breakers The poems in Ending the War on My Body are in turns lyrical, raw, wistful, vivid, hopeful and angry, weaving together as a collection to form a story of hard-won self-acceptance and, ultimately, a love letter to the person in the mirror. It's about the way we see ourselves and the way society tells us to be-and how it's quite possible that the battle we've been waging on ourselves doesn't need to be fought after all. I highly recommend this collection to anyone with a body, whether you love it or not. -Elissa Sweet, editor and artist A bewitching, unflinching, and body-centered tour of duty. McClintic weaves her own striking experience of eating disorders in the dance world and the hard-won journey back to her human self with finesse and a fierce honesty that is sorely needed in our world. Told in a brilliant, unassuming, jewel-faceted voice, McClintic's journey is a powerful and relatable one. Read it. I loved it. I can't wait to read it again. -Elizabeth Woods-Darby, poet and author of BareFootHeart