Thunderstruck: A Dark Poetry Collection by Sandy DeLuca, Alex S. Johnson, and Alea Celeste Williams
Independently Published (October 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Thunderstruck describes itself as “A witchy, pagan, erotic, just right for Halloween poetry collection by critically acclaimed authors, artists and poets.” This is a very appropriate description as the bulk of the poems are witchy and pagan in origin.
Take, for example, the poem “The Queen,” cowritten by Sandy DeLuca and Alex S. Johnson.
Specters slip through veil of death–
sky dotted with night-birds
crying beneath moon’s yellow glow.Ghouls and goblins dance
in swirls of oak-scented smoke–
dead leaves burn on ancient graves.Queen of autumn rises–
mortal children scurry by–
This is the sort of folk horror poetry that readers can expect from this collection, poems that are contemporary, but also echo darker and more haunted histories. The authors are tapping into ancient mythic and pagan imagery throughout these pages, and the book is steeped with this particular brand of darkness.
Elsewhere, the poems dip into the more sensual, as in “Surreal City” by Alea Celeste Williams. The opening lines establish a physically romantic awakening highlighted with soft nature images:
With warm strokes,
making a clear course along a cool coast
The sun rises, making its impact here
Shining, making us alive
Animals open their eyes…
Poems like this may not be horror or dark, perse, but they do serve to create a consistent voice throughout the collection so that, when the darker and more horrific poems occur they stand out even more so.
It is difficult to collaborate in poetry in general, so the fact that three poets have come together to create a collection of individual and group work. Thunderstruck: A Dark Poetry Collection shows the dedication and tenacity that Sandy DeLuca, Alex S. Johnson, and Alea Celeste Williams for their particular style of dark poetry. The full range of their skill is on display in this collection, which horror poetry readers will want to purchase to complete their library.
