Come-Hither Honeycomb

by Erin Belieu

In Come-Hither Honeycomb, Erin Belieu turns her signature wit and intellectual rigor inward for an unguarded exploration of human vulnerability. The poems meditate on the impact of large and small traumas: the lasting thumbprint of abuse, the collective specter of disease, the achingly sweet humility of parenting. The bodies in these poems are trapped, held hostage, bleeding. And yet there is agency--structural dynamism, texture, the color green--while a woman climbs a metal ladder to the diving board, a girl climbs high into the branches. The speaker grapples with a lifelong pattern of brutality, then painfully breaks free.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

47 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 2021

About the author

Associate Professor, MFA The Ohio State University (1992), MA Boston University (1995), specializes in poetry. Her first book, Infanta, was selected by Hayden Carruth for the National Poetry Series and was named one of the ten best books of 1995 by Library Journal, Washington Post Book World, and the National Book Critics' Circle. Her second collection, One Above and One Below, won the Ohioana Award and the Society of Midland Authors Award. Her poems have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Slate, Nerve, The Yale Review, TriQuarterly, Ploughshares, The New York Times, and others. She previously served as managing editor of AGNI.
Belieu's third poetry collection, Black Box, was published by Copper Canyon press in early 2007 and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Poems from Black Box appeared in places such as Ploughshares, Tin House and The Virginia Quarterly Review (and are available to read in the magazines' website archives). Her poem "The Last Of The Gentlemen Heartbreakers" was featured on the Poetry Daily website. Belieu also wrote as a featured poet for The Poetry Foundation website in July 2006. The daily blog she kept for the foundation can be found at www.poetryfoundation.org.
In September 2006, Belieu embarked on the Wave Press Poetry Bus Tour. Along with poets such as Matthew Zapruder, Joshua Beckman, Eileen Myles and Arthur Sze, Belieu traveled cross country in a tour bus, stopping to read from Black Box in places such as Seattle, Spokane, Missoula, Boise, Jackson Hole and Omaha.
In August 2009, Belieu co founded (with poet Cate Marvin) the organization VIDA: Women In Literary Arts whose mission is "to explore critical and cultural perceptions of writing by women through meaningful conversation and the exchange of ideas among existing and emerging literary communities." Since the organization's founding, VIDA has become a strong national media presence and Belieu has focused her writing on non fiction, responding to issues of gender bias in publishing in places such as Slate and The New York Times. In 2010, VIDA will be a sponsor of the AWP conference in Washington DC.
Belieu is presently at work on a non fiction memoir detailing her experiences in parenting a special needs child. New poems have appeared recently in Lit, 32 Poems and Prairie Schooner. Belieu is also the Artistic Director of the Port Townsend Writers Conference. The conference brings in nationally and internationally acclaimed poets and prose writers to work with participants every July on the island of Port Townsend, Washington.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multi faceted poems that reflect the possibilities hidden in daily existence. Erin Belieu has a voice that pulls you in; you start to see the world in a different way as you let go of your preconceived perceptions and allow yourself to be immersed in seeing the world through her eyes.

[Ken]

Chapbook-sized, 15 poems strong. Well, maybe not strong, but it clearly did some push-ups. The type deal where no single poem sings, start to finish, but certain lines hit the high notes clear and true.

[Stephi · Rating 2 out of 5]

None of the poems quite worked for me, but there were some nice lines.

2 stars

[Nancy Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars because it's not awful. It just didn't say anything to me.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Blink once for yes, and twice for yes- the heart makes a signal for the willing, its purity sublime."
First poetry collection I've ever read, so I can't be sure of how it compares. But it sure made me feel a lot, and ever since I've been more interested in poetry, so that must mean something.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this poetry book. Every poem took you into a moment with grace and raw quality that was refreshing. A beautiful book that I will cherish.

[S P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loser Bait
Some of us
are chum.

Some of us
are the come-hither
honeycomb

gleamy in the middle
of the trap’s busted smile.

Though I let myself a little
off this hook, petard
by which I flail,

and fancy myself more
flattered — 
no ugly worm!

Humor me
as hapless nymph,
straight outta Bullfinch, minding
my own beeswax,

gamboling, or picking flowers
(say daffodils),

doing that unspecified stuff
nymphs do
with their hours,

until spied by a layabout youth,
or rapey god
who leaps unerring, stag-like,
quicker than smoke, to the wrong idea.

Or maybe
the right?

For didn’t I supply
the tippy box, too?
Notch the stick on which
to prop it?

Didn’t I fumble the clove hitch
for the rope?
Leave the trip lying obvious
in the tall, buggy grass?

Ever it was.
Duh.

Be the mat,
and the left foot finds you welcome.

Though there’s always a subject, a him
or herself. But to name it
calls it down, like Satan
or the IRS.

It must be swell
to have both deed and
the entitlement, for leaners who hold our lien,

consumers who consume like
red tide ripping through a coastal lake.

Who find themselves so very well
when gazing in that kiddie pool, or any
skinny inch of water.

That guy, remember? How tell this tale
without him? A story
so hoary, his name’s Pre-Greek.

What brought Narcissus down?
A spotty case
of the disdains, I think,

a one-man performance
where the actor hates his audience. (4)

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beauty of poetry is in its freeform nature, of which Belieu relishes. She explores motherhood, youth/age, disappointment, and grief in her works. She bends the boundaries of poetry to do so, playing with construction and flow.

That Belieu forces readers to reconfigure their headspace to understand her verse is a fantastic tool but also a tedious exercise. It's one thing to challenge an audience and their preconceived notion, but Come-Hither Honeycomb often falls into its own habits. In disruption, it finds complacence with one or two particular manners that break up reader routine. Themes become muddled, ideas unfocused, and the beauty of poetry's lack of borders become fenced in. I like the thesis of Come-Hither Honeycomb, but the execution wasn't perfect and therefore the results were mixed. Poetry shouldn't be "easy" but Belieu didn't make it hard, just overly complicated.

[Annie Yotova · Rating 2 out of 5]

Modern poetry can be challenging - I probably miss a lot of the subtlety in it but I usually need it to either paint a picture for me or to evoke an emotion. And for some reason, none of the 14 poems by Belieu in this volume did.

Some were incomprehensible to the point where I had to reread them a few times to make sure I am not misplacing words and lines (or worse). Some (the opening "Instructions for the Hostage" and the closing "She Returns to the Water") came close to actually working but something was still off.

I am not sure if I was in the wrong mood for the book or if Erin Belieu's style just does not work for me. I probably will try another one of her books before I give up on her completely but I doubt that it will be anytime soon.

[Shelly Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smart and pithy, accessible and relatable. I found these poems held a unique tension in me, that I entered them and wanted to stay there and hover, yet also yearned to be released from the piercing tiny hole of vulnerability this author creates. It's the kind of poetry that gives poetry a good name.

[Amie Whittemore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely liked it. I'd give it 3.5 if that was an option. It was lovely and brief, which is more and more uncommon in poetry worlds. I felt like, and this might be my fault and not the book's fault, that it all just glossed over me or I glossed over it. Will try to read again and see if I can better pin down my feelings on this latest Belieu venture.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erin Belieu’s poetry is crisp (not sure if this is the word I’m looking for—) and witty. What I particularly liked about her style is the way she plays with structure and concepts in each poem, making for a dynamic read.

I can recognize Belieu’s talent, but I don’t think I was the right audience.

[Jordan Villanueva · Rating 4 out of 5]

These poems weren’t particularly masterful or impressive but Belieu’s language really pulled me in. There’s a subtle humor to the collection, particularly in the adverbs the author uses in a sort of challenge to the reader’s expectations.

[Shawn Aebi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small yet creative collection of reflections. Some wonderful quips in here. Shows she is comfortable in many rhythms.

[Tom Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Maybe it's enough to recognize
ourselves unsolvable, half trash,
half glitter bomb, dropped along
the trench by dying stars."

[Mary Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favorite poems: Pity the Doctor Not the Disease, When I Am A Teenage Boy, The Man Who Fills In Space, Sundays

[Colleen]

I decided not to rate this book because it would be unfair to give it a low score just because this is not the type of poetry I enjoy.

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting pulled into these poems and often didn't know what they were about.

from In Airports: "It was the season for / weeping in airports for walking // and bleeding in airports-- // the white corridors their rocking / chairs, the ghosts and trains and strangers / all overcast the windows // and buzzing of people"

from Please Forgive Me All That I Have Ruined-: "I didn't pony up for all / my EXTRA. I took that check for every meal // always ready to confuse the sum that someone / wants from me with the balance of myself."