The Witch Tells the Story and Makes It True: Poems

By Liz Kay

Revisiting the forest Hansel and Gretel stumble into, The Witch Tells the Story and Makes It True drifts between narrative and incantation, as the witch claims her spot at the center of the tale "we know by heart"--the ravenous witch, the precocious children. And yet, "If there's a hero in this story," she declares,

• Language: English
• Publisher: Quarter Press
• Release date: May 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781952730023

Book preview

The Witch Tells the Story and Makes It True

Text Copyright © 2020 by Liz Kay

Art Copyright © 2020 by Devin Forst

No part of this book may be used or reproduced

without the permission of the publisher and

copyright owner. However, small portions may be

referenced for academic or review purposes.

Editor: Christina Olson

Book Design / Layout: Chris Smith

Cover Art: Devin Forst

Fonts:

Poems and Interior text are Baskerville

Title and Interludes are Caligula Dodgy

by ZetaFonts

ISBN: 978-1-952730-01-6

ISBN: 978-1-952730-02-3 (e-book)

Second Printing 2021

(First Printing released as limited hardcover in

September 2020 by Quarter Press. Also available

as an eBook.)

Published by Quarter Press, LLC

Savannah, GA

www.quarterpress.com

for my mother, who took me to see the witches

CONTENTS

Bias— The Witch Takes a Side

I.

The Witch Awaits the Children

The Witch Introduces the Children

The Witch Laments the Children

The Witch Entices the Children

The Witch Explains the Problem of Gender

Faith—The Witch Offers Something to Believe In

The Witch Implicates the Children

II.

The Witch Introduces Herself

Gingerbread—The Witch Remembers

The Witch Has a Certain Fondness for Sisters

Transubstantiation—The Witch Ponders the Mystery of Salvation

Spellbound—The Witch Discovers Magic

Rendering—The Witch Boils

Meditation on the Elder Sister: The Witch Considers the Infirmity of Love

Justice—The Witch Bears Witness

Firewood—The Witch Explains the Nature of Men

Birthing—The Witch Believes in Mercy

Spring Cleaning—The Witch Considers the Efficacy of Salt

Palmistry—The Witch Foretells Her Own Demise

III.

Independence—The Witch Debunks the Sabbat

The Witch Discovers Power

The Witch Was Lost and Found

Resolution—The Witch Lays Claim

The Witch Discusses the Impossibility of Flight

Mementos—The Witch Explains the Nature of Magic

Contagion—The Witch Explains the Nature of Evil

Hunger—The Witch Has a Purpose

IV.

Fortuneteller—The Witch Dabbles in Prophecy

The Witch Explains the