Francofilaments

by Eileen G'Sell

Francofilaments is a poetic exploration of the intersections between Francophilia, feminism, and cinema. Informed by her work as a culture critic, the collection is marked by a blend of sharp wit, inventive wordplay, and a candid voice that traverses themes of desire, sex, and loss. G'Sell's poems move with a rhythmic, almost cinematic quality, conjuring vivid imagery and unexpected juxtapositions that invite the reader into a world where the everyday and the extraordinary coalesce. With a deft hand, she captures the nuanced interplay of language, identity, and the ever-present allure of French culture, offering a fresh perspective on what it means to navigate modern womanhood.

78 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2024

Reviews

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Francofilaments limns, in a daring collection of media res vignettes, the brio necessary to survive as a female poet in the 21st century,"More Annabel Lee than Lady Dior," "her heart singing darkly." G'Sell's mastery of image, allusion, and tone are bar none, and her European and French sensibility, a welcome tonic in today's monoculture. She brazenly tears through our sacred cows (including romance) like a femme Nikita, yet impresses upon the reader the joyful, humorous transience of life, with a seductive invitation to rise above the known. One is not born, but becomes a woman, as de Beauvoir said, and G'Sell investigates this fraught becoming through the lens of modern art and films with verve and je ne sais quoi brilliance. Francofilaments illuminates the dark of patriarchy with elan, her poems "like clever birds that land on my wrists to rest." I'm deeply grateful for this joyride of poetic jouissance, which holds the world lightly, as great art does.

[Alissa Hattman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of poems on French cinema and feminism by a film critic I admire. One of my favorite lines: "how long / can the looming cirrus clouds / bitter sky without us?"