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The Familiar: Poems
Win a free print copy of this book!
0 days and 01:32:04
3 copies available
U.S. only
“‘The feminists lied,� she tells me. ‘They said we could do everything / we wanted.� ‘Anything,� I correct her.�
A book-length narrative in poems, The Familiar explores female mid-life existential crisis through two characters: the Ordinary Self and the Extraordinary Self. A true homebody, satisfied with routine and the comforts of domesticity, the Ordinary Self wakes one day to find that while she’s been sleeping—for months? for years?� the Extraordinary Self has wreaked havoc in a blind, desperate attempt to accomplish something—anything—truly great. As the Ordinary Self works to reestablish harmony and order within the household, the Extraordinary Self must come to terms with her failure to meet both the ambitions of her youth and the standards that society has set for her as a mother, as a colleague, and as a spouse.
Fabulist and absurdist, The Familiar features a mix of high and low language, philosophy, and pop culture while exploring the effects of second and third-wave feminism. It’s a book for anyone who’s vacillated between dreams, desires, and ambition on the one hand, and on the other a deeply ingrained need for stability and calm. It’s a book for anyone who may be approaching or going through mid-life and thinking, “Oh no. What have I done?�
A book-length narrative in poems, The Familiar explores female mid-life existential crisis through two characters: the Ordinary Self and the Extraordinary Self. A true homebody, satisfied with routine and the comforts of domesticity, the Ordinary Self wakes one day to find that while she’s been sleeping—for months? for years?� the Extraordinary Self has wreaked havoc in a blind, desperate attempt to accomplish something—anything—truly great. As the Ordinary Self works to reestablish harmony and order within the household, the Extraordinary Self must come to terms with her failure to meet both the ambitions of her youth and the standards that society has set for her as a mother, as a colleague, and as a spouse.
Fabulist and absurdist, The Familiar features a mix of high and low language, philosophy, and pop culture while exploring the effects of second and third-wave feminism. It’s a book for anyone who’s vacillated between dreams, desires, and ambition on the one hand, and on the other a deeply ingrained need for stability and calm. It’s a book for anyone who may be approaching or going through mid-life and thinking, “Oh no. What have I done?�
- GenresPoetry
108 pages, Paperback
Published February 20, 2024
1 person is currently reading
1,809 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Kain Gutowski
5Ìýbooks41ÌýfollowersSarah Kain Gutowski is the author of two books, The Familiar (forthcoming, Texas Review Press) and Fabulous Beast: Poems, winner of the 14th annual National Indies Excellence Award for Poetry. With interdisciplinary artist Meredith Starr, she is co-creator of the project Every Second Feels Like Theft, a conversation in cyanotypes and poetry. Her poems have appeared in various print and online journals, including The Gettysburg Review, The Threepenny Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, and The Southern Review. Her criticism has been published by Colorado Review, Calyx: A Journal of Art and Literature by Women, and the New York Journal of Books.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 30, 2024
An original and strange poetic battle of wills between the "ordinary self" and the "extraordinary self" of a woman negotiating marriage, family, and career at midlife. One persona, organized and patient, seeks an orderly life; the other is a force for creativity and chaos. Things turn dark as one tries to exterminate the other. The overarching narrative is suspenseful, but I also find the book very moving--The Familiar is certainly about gender and ambition, but it also strikes me as a book about anxiety and depression, how one might cope with them while forging an integrated self.
June 11, 2024
A collection of poems from two selves: the Ordinary Self and the Extraordinary Self.
from We Were Complicit: "She used to say that nothing could stop us. Under the helm / of our extraordinary self, our ship would come in. // Our star would ascend. A sad, mixed bag of metaphors, / we kept and groomed her, our extraordinary self, / like a pet—praised every correct action until // she felt she could do no wrong."
from It is Difficult to Say the Word: "To be fair, it's a trick question: Why does everyone feel // entitled to happiness, as if it were as common / or as necessary as oxygen? She says she feels content. / She knows the difference. I know the difference."
from We Were Complicit: "She used to say that nothing could stop us. Under the helm / of our extraordinary self, our ship would come in. // Our star would ascend. A sad, mixed bag of metaphors, / we kept and groomed her, our extraordinary self, / like a pet—praised every correct action until // she felt she could do no wrong."
from It is Difficult to Say the Word: "To be fair, it's a trick question: Why does everyone feel // entitled to happiness, as if it were as common / or as necessary as oxygen? She says she feels content. / She knows the difference. I know the difference."
June 27, 2024
Just wow. These poems are so layered and interesting. They aren't a normal collection of unique, disconnected poems but rather a sequence of dialogues between a main self and her secondary selves. The poems are startling and true, elucidating the dark conflict between artistic ambition and motherhood. I started dog-earring my favorite poems until I realized I was dog-earring every other page. Great stuff.
January 22, 2025
I absolutely loved this amazing book of poetry. I've read it twice; I may read it again.
April 17, 2025
Brilliant and honest and familiar and wonderfully damn funny, too. I loved this book.
May 5, 2024
Say mid-life crisis and what probably comes to mind is a middle-aged man with a red sports car and a too-young girlfriend (post divorce of course). It's a stereotype for a reason, but here Sarah Gutowski gives a facinating account of the female experience. It's a dialog between the Extrodinary Self (I can be Everything) and the Ordinary self (This is what life is now, including the consequences of choices I made on purpose).
It's thoughtful and evocative. When you're finished, even if you don't remember a particular passage you'll feel like you've been seen.
Read it. You won't regret it.
It's thoughtful and evocative. When you're finished, even if you don't remember a particular passage you'll feel like you've been seen.
Read it. You won't regret it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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