Monday Reviews - The Whisper Collector by Anaïs Chartschenko

Not all whispers are sweet, but these are beautifully raw

Anaïs Chartschenko has a knack for writing things that disarm me. Rarely if ever do you read anything that emotionally naked and disarming. But it is not vulnerable or weak. These whispers are barbwired, they’re raw, they’re deep, and they are intense. Chartschenko pulls no punches and if you’re looking for red roses and blue violets, look elsewhere. If instead you want poetry that bites, then read The Whisper Collector. 

There are five collections within this volume and each varies in intensity and format. Some have poems with long lines, others are short rapid fire lines that stab the flesh of your emotions. I am certain some people who are more sensitive will either be offended or shocked by the lines here. But for me, I was amazed at the raw beauty she once again captures. 

At times lyrical, you could easily envision poems in song form or spoken over a dirge-like piano and I wouldn’t mind these collections coming as a booklet in a CD. These are poems that are vivid though quite often very direct. What’s amazing in these collections isn’t in the metaphors but in the pure emotion you find within these verses. Once again, Chartschenko proves that there is beauty in scars, in darkness, and in whispers.