Additional information
by Sarah Kain Gutowski (Author)
"'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?"
Author Biography
SARAH KAIN GUTOWSKI is the author of two books, The Familiar 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 New York Journal of Books.
