The White Spider in My Hand

The White Spider in My Hand is a collection of postmodern poetry that explores the intensities and nuances of feminist expression. The poems address the subjects of family, the natural world, and contemporary society. The volume, which is a compact 77 pages in length, contains structured free verse, narratives, lyrics, and poems that are formal in style.

"In the title poem, a white spider sits in the palm of the poet's hand and weaves a mysterious spell on a woman-and us readers as well. Such magical creatures are emblematic of this collection where Sonja James effortlessly fuses the natural and the supernatural, the mythic and the mundane. With a voice that is equal parts play, wit, and intelligence, she is able to "swallow clouds whole" and "continue to fly as free as a spark from an anvil."
-Elaine Equi, author of Click & Clone.

"As the title of this rich collection suggests, The White Spider in My Hand buckles with the thrills and tensions of living as a fallen human in an innocent natural world."
-Elizabeth Savage, author of Grammar

"I read this book the way I would read a gallery of paintings were they not paintings but songs, for James plays images like notes-often one precise half-step shy of the reader's expectation."
-Ida Stewart, author of Gloss, winner of the 2011 Perugia Press Prize