[Review] Where Decay Sleeps by Anna Cheung
Image: Haunt Publishing
Where Decay Sleeps is the debut poetry collection from Anna Cheung, organized into the seven stages of decay: pallor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis, livor mortis, putrefaction, decomposition, and skeletonisation. The themes, construction, and gothic tone of the collection are a perfect match for Haunt Publishing, where the collection is available now.
The collection opens with the Pallor Mortis, which Cheung gives the subtitle of (Birth). The opening poem “In Utero” takes the reader through a full term pregnancy, highlighting the raw blood and guts of it all, setting up the collection to steep itself in Cheung’s neo-Gothic world. As the collection is about the process of decay, Cheung begins with a birth poem, creating a cyclical narrative of the piece as a whole. “In Utero” illustrates the parallel of the beginning of a life with the visceral, disgusting reality of the biology of pregnancy, best exemplified in the line: “You rattled my ribcage/ ripped into my soft-celled walls/ a furious prisoner under my bones”.
The collection continues with the examination of its primary thesis: the fears of aging and decay. The images Cheung creates in her poems are ones of a gruesome Gothic nature, with recurring references to rot, body parts, and cemeteries. Along with the more devastating, emotional poems, Cheung sprinkles in some light camp with poems such as “Monster Tinder” and “Le Château Viande,” perfectly encapsulating the best of the horror genre with this balance.
As to be expected in a Gothic collection, ghosts appear quite frequently throughout the pages, so although the speaker of the poems may be anxious about the inevitability of aging and decay, there remains this idea of a life after death. Ghosts haunt these poems, yet they signal an acceptance of the mortality of the body and offer hope that our stories will be passed on after death.
The collection ends with the poem “My Cat-erina,” where the speaker of the poem describes a woman using language that would normally be attributed to a cat. The piece is witty and displays a deep love of the quirks of the aforementioned Caterina. It also wraps up the collection with a reminder that has been present in the collection as a whole: that we are all animals, in the end. Our bodies are subject to the natural processes of aging and death, just as any animal, so we might as well learn to play it up a bit.
Overall, Where Decay Sleeps is a stunning debut with a perfect mix of gore and humor. Cheung has managed to craft a collection where the poems are in conversation with one another, while also showcasing her range and versatility. She is a breakout star and the thought and work that was put into this collection is evident on every page. It is extremely exciting and refreshing to see a poet dedicate themselves to the Gothic and horror genres in such a prolific way. I look forward to whatever comes next from Cheung.