Luanne Castle

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review through Library Thing's Early Reviewers program.)

Nobody ever asked me
about any of it.
People don't want to hear
the stories of an old woman.
But I know things. About

the girl, the wolf, what
happened that night
when the moon moved past
the woods and the ground
grew too cold for snow.

("What Happens in the Dark When It's Cold Outside")

She never listened to the tales about her,
choosing to remain buoyant and open.

("Fiction")

Why am I the one who has to be confined?

("Grounded")

OUR WOLVES is a poetic reimagining / retelling / reexamination of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. Within these pages, the wolf could be anyone, from the canine's wild cousin, a Big Bad lurking in the woods, to Red herself. It's an alluring idea, although I naturally enjoyed some of the poems more than others ("School for Girls Who Shouldn't Trust" and "You All Been Waiting for a Wolf Confession" are particularly biting). I'm not sure I entirely understood some of the others; perhaps a second or third read-through is in order.

I do wish the collection was longer; the final piece, "How to Make a Hand Shadow Wolf" almost felt like the end of a first act, a promise of more to come.

Also, have a not-so-petty complaint about the print book - the text is tiny! Like eight point at best. As short as the book is, I developed a headache from eye strain two thirds of the way in. I know I'm getting up there, but still.… (meer)

Our Wolves – poetry by Luanne Castle (2023)
Wow! I guess all those times I was read or told the story of Little Red Riding Hood has finally paid off. Castle gives us new points of view for this story, as well as a widely varying poetic style that turns out to be the only ‘page turner’ in the poetry section of my library. Red, Granny, and Wolf become real, three-dimensional characters, and each get a chance to ‘clarify’ the events.

"Everybody blames someone
But study how it played out."
- Luanne Castle, Our Wolf>em>

You must own this book (even if you ‘don’t read poetry’).

Yes, you do have room for one more book.… (meer)