Hillbilly Madonna

<h1 class=ql-align-center><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Sara Moore Wagner's poetry collection </span><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)><em>Hillbilly Madonna</em></strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> is a harrowing and ultimately hopeful lens into rural life trauma and the opioid crisis. </span></h1><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Rendered with crucial </span><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>honesty</strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> these poems center </span><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>women's experiences</strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> in </span><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Appalachia </strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>and reveal their often-overlooked </span><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>stories </strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>and </span><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>perspectives</strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>. </span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Simultaneously </span><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>tender </strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>and </span><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>biting</strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> </span><em style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Hillbilly Madonna</em><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> ushers in a vital new voice in </span><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>southern poetics</strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> one that will stick with readers far beyond the wooded foothills of </span><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Ohio</strong><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>.</span></p><p></p><p>In a sea of writing about <strong>rural America</strong> Wagner's collection stands out as especially insightful. Lived experiences and a deep focus on how <strong>place </strong>can shape <strong>gender roles </strong>catapult these poems to the top of modern <strong>Appalachian writing</strong>.</p><p></p><p>Readers with an interest in <strong>rural American culture </strong>or those looking for the next great work of <strong>confessional </strong>poetry can do no better than <em>Hillbilly Madonna</em><strong><em>. </em>Gorgeous language </strong>and <strong>intimate narratives </strong>course through these <strong>poems </strong>and will stay with readers long after they close the last page.</p><p></p><p>This collection also features a <strong>bespoke interview </strong>with the writer at then end of the book delving deeper into the <strong>craft</strong> <strong>influences</strong> and <strong>life </strong>behind their work.</p>