

The feminist perspective in this book is clear and shines a light on the complexities of the writing life.

Cade captures the essence of each woman by using references to the authors’ work, their own life and environment, the ideas that inspired the content of their writing, and their role in overcoming the obstacles facing a woman who writes. Effects on the monster become a means of describing the effects each writer has had on literature. In the poems, each woman represents a part of Mary Shelley’s literary legacy and is viewed as a possible “mother” for her monster. A group of provocative short poems is devoted to each of Cade’s selected authors including Mary Shelley, Katherine Mansfield, Virginia Woolf, Janet Frame, Sylvia Plath, Grace Mera Molisa, Octavia Butler, Angela Carter, and Murasaki Shikibu. Instead of reading dry academic pieces on women writers who have made significant contributions to literature and thought, enjoy Octavia Cade’s uniquely creative approach to literary criticism in Mary Shelley Makes a Monster: Conversation Pieces Vol.

Mary Shelley Makes a Monster: Conversation Pieces Vol.
