What She Wants: Poems on Obsession, Desire, Despair, Euphoria

by Kim Dower

Obsessive love has never been so much fun! What She Poems on Obsession, Desire, Despair, Euphoria is a powerful tribute to the intensity of obsessive love, told through the trademark humor and heartbreak of bestselling poet Kim Dower.


Following the commercial and literary success of her bestselling poetry collection, I Wore This Dress Today for You, Poems on Motherhood, Kim Dower delivers What She Poems on Obsession, Desire, Despair, Euphoria—turning her keen eye, vibrant imagination, trademark insight, and humor to the intensity of obsessive love. These steamy and provocative poems, combining humor and heartache, run through the four phases of Limerence, the state of being infatuated or obsessed with another Infatuation, Crystallization, Deterioration, and Ecstatic Release. From the opening poem, “She’ll do anything for food,” to the sexy title poem, “What She Wants,” the painfully funny, “His Other Girlfriend,” to the longing in “Visiting Baudelaire,” and the sad, sweet final poem, “Fish’s Lament,” Kim Dower captures the essence of what it means to be stuck on someone—even on a squirrel! Her eclectic, growing readership will savor these poems that can be read in one sitting, like a story with an arc, or separately, each one recalling the moment of falling in or out of love, the moment our hearts skipped a beat.

Genres: Poetry

136 pages, Hardcover

Published January 14, 2025

About the author

"What She Wants: Poems on Obsession, Desire, Despair, Euphoria showcases Kim Dower's distinctive and engaging style when it comes to crafting emotionally engaging, resonating, and memorable verse. Her word smithing, poetry based storytelling skills are truly impressive, making What She Wants especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, and college/university library Contemporary American Poetry collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.”
-Midwest Book Review

Kim Dower is the bestselling poet of six collections from Red Hen Press. Her latest, What She Wants: Poems on Obsession, Desire, Despair Euphoria, will be published on January 14th, 2025. Kim was City Poet Laureate of West Hollywood from October 2016 to October 2018. I Wore This Dress Today for You, Mom (2022), an Eric Hoffer Book Award Finalist, was called a “fantastic collection” by The Washington Post, “impressively insightful, thought-provoking, and truly memorable” by The Midwest Book Review, and Shelf-Awareness said, “These gorgeous gems are energized by the sheer power of her wit and irreverent style.” Sunbathing on Tyrone Power’s Grave (2019) won the 2020 Independent Publishers Book Award Gold Medal for Poetry. Her first collection, Air Kissing on Mars (2010), appeared on the Poetry Foundation’s Contemporary Best Sellers list and was described by the Los Angeles Times as “sensual and evocative … seamlessly combining humor and heartache.” Kim’s work has been featured in numerous literary journals including Plume, Ploughshares, Rattle, The James Dickey Review, and Garrison Keillor's “The Writer's Almanac,” and her poems are included in several anthologies. She has taught in numerous writing programs across the country, from the B.A. program at Antioch University Los Angeles to Emerson College in Boston. Next year, Kim celebrates the 40th anniversary of her literary and media services company, Kim-from-L.A. Born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and a graduate of Emerson College’s Creative Writing BFA program, Kim now lives with her family in West Hollywood, CA. To learn more about Kim, visit her poetry website: www.kimdowerpoetry.com.

Reviews

[Brooke]

⭐️ ??? stars ⭐️

Who’s to say the kiss I feel in the wind isn’t sent by you Who’s to say you’re not the moon in my pocket?

A collection of poems on obsession, desire, despair, euphoria.

𝐿𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 — 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒷𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝒷𝓈𝑒𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝒾𝓃𝒻𝒶𝓉𝓊𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝑜𝓃𝑒, 𝓊𝓈𝓊𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝒶𝓃𝒾𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝓁𝓊𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝑜𝓇 𝒶 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝓃 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓃𝓈𝑒 𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝓉𝒾𝒸 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃

Another question mark rating, another read that has me battling conflicting feelings.
It’s poetry, it’s meant for provoking emotions and opposing thoughts isn’t it?
It’s art, it’s subjective, it has a multitude of interpretations, doesn’t it?
Objective opinion: It worked, it flowed, it was poetic and deep.
But I did not enjoy it.

He wants to be sure she can take all he’s got to give, hopes she asks him for more.

I wrote a lengthy paragraph on how these poems made me feel, how I didn’t like the mental space they put me in, why I felt the need to finish it for a sense of catharsis or whatever. But my own words were making me feel worse. Exposed.

I learned to love by feeling bad, feeling shame I never meant to leave the milk out I should have been the one to blame I learned to love by protecting everyone but me

Maybe I don’t know what these poems are actually about. Maybe I didn’t grasp the real significance, maybe I should stop thinking I know fuck-all about poetry. ‘Cause all I really know is that What She Wants is not for me and certainly not what I want.

She never said, don’t go, but not saying stay was enough for him to leave.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, and am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

[Meg]

Got intrigued by the limerence concept. Then realized I actually do not want to be associated with the ideas in this book in any way. Frankly, I found it dumb, cliché and even offensive. Metaphors fall so flat. The language is boring, self-pitying, and the author wallows but in the worst cringey way.

It also annoyed me. At one point the author suggests that no one wants to eat candy at night despite the fact that there is a national holiday dedicated to that very activity. Candy stores in the city are open until midnight to support people getting candy at night. Deli culture in New York revolves around getting candy at 10 pm. Then she said she point blank she didn’t have an eating disorder (something someone with an eating disorder would say) when she was obviously trying to make people feel weird about eating candy at night!!!!

It was the last straw for me when she called pigeons stupid. But this is a person who wears jeans without underwear so maybe I shouldn’t be taking her so seriously.

[meg]

How does one stretch a memory wide enough to cover up a life?

What She Wants is a poignant collection by Kim Dower, the author of I Wore This Dress Today for You, Mom and Sunbathing on Tyrone Power's Grave. Recipient of the Gold Medal in Poetry from Independent Publisher Books Awards and an Eric Offer Book Award Finalist, she explores the intersection of love, obsession and desire in this fascinating collection. 

Her ability to capture the human experiences of love, loneliness and infatuation with words is commendable, and her poetry communicates the story with a sharp, lyrical cadence. The poems are demarcated by four phases of Limerance— Infatuation, Crystallization, Deterioration, and Ecstatic Release; each offering a unique glimpse at the numerous errors, regrets and joys of the heart. I quite enjoyed this collection and am thankful to Netgalley and Red Hen Press for the ARC. 

3.5/5

[Emi]

Publishing date: 14.01.2025 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and Red Hen Press for the ARC. My opinions are my own.


TLDR: Confusing and obsessive

I will cut straight to the chase here; this was a big miss for me. Usually collections (short stories or poems) that are about love and desire hits that sweet spot for me. This one missed the mark by a long shot.

The poems were confusing. I couldn't make out any proper connection. Most were too similar to each other or rewrites of the same thing. The poems were either too obsessed with man/men or the woman herself.

I just couldn't connect with it in any meaningful way. Neither am I sure who this is for ... 2 stars.

[Tom Garback]

These steamy and provocative poems, combining humor and heartache, run through the four phases of Limerence, the state of being infatuated or obsessed with another person: Infatuation, Crystallization, Deterioration, and Ecstatic Release.

This is an empowering, vulnerable, and evocative poetry collection that’s all about feminine power, youthfulness at any age, and living authentically.

What She Wants is a powerful tribute to the intensity of obsessive love, told through the trademark humor and heartbreak of bestselling poet Kim Dower.

[Debrette]

I’ve been a fan of Kim Dower’s poetry for years. This latest release has me reeling. Dower plumbs the depths of passion and obsession with vulnerability and grace in What She Knows. I’d never even heard of the word “limerence” until I opened this powerful collection of poems. Dower speaks to the poignancy and provocations of obsessive love like no other. Her work is disturbing and delicious, enticing and intense in equal measure. Five stars.

[Vanessa]

This book is obsessive love that has never been so much fun! What She Wants: Poems on Obsession, Desire, Despair, Euphoria is a powerful tribute to the intensity of obsessive love, told through the trademark humour and heartbreak of bestselling poet Kim Dower.

I really enjoyed reading this small book and it was a great quick read.

WoW, what a beautiful cover this book has, Just a prefect picture by Dahl.

Big Thank you to NetGalley and Red Hen Press for my ARC.

[Lisa Gisèle]

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. The opinions written are completely honest and my own.

I think I write this about every poetry book review, but how does one rate the emotions of the author. will rate it one relatability as an "Get An Afterlife" did for me. I loved it and I loved the imagery as well

[Carol Finizza]

Each poem evokes a memory from my life experience -- tender at times, often emotional, causing me to pause then compelling me to turn the page and venture into untapped places in my soul. Sweet. Touching. Provocative. A must read

Carol Finizza, Author
Messy Girl Murder Series

[Marie]

One of best poetry collections I have ever read. Sensual and evocative . . . seamlessly combines humor and heartache.

[Kristin Spillers]

Kim Dower’s What She Wants is a poetry collection that feels like an intimate exploration of desire, longing, and the complexities of the human heart. In these pages, Dower crafts poems that resonate with such rawness and emotional precision, it's hard not to feel like each one speaks directly to the reader’s soul. The recurring theme of limerence — that intense, all-consuming infatuation — is what really makes What She Wants shine. Each poem taps into the thrilling highs and agonizing lows of unrequited love, obsession, and the emotional rollercoaster that accompanies wanting someone with everything you have. There’s something in the way she combines lyrical beauty with a grounded sense of vulnerability that makes each poem hit a note of perfect clarity. In Dower's hands, even the painful moments of limerence become rich with insight and beauty. She takes the rawest emotional experiences and transforms them into something universally understandable, something that feels like a reflection of the reader's own heart. A collection that belongs on every poetry lover’s shelf and one that invites readers that are new to poetry, to fall absolutely in love.

[Nat Morgan]

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book of poems was good but it really just wasn’t for me. I struggled with the poems, most of them didn’t make sense to me. I couldn’t figure out if they were connected or just confusingly similiar ? The the whole section of cat poems ? Unsure what to make of this one.