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Paper Doll Fetus

Persona poems, medical history, superstition, and birth

Persea | 2014

A Rumpus Poetry Book Club Selection

Arising from the history of obstetrics, midwifery, and the many possible experiences of childbirth, these lush and harrowing poems astonished me the moment I encountered them. … Hoffman creates one beautiful inhabitation after another, each a feat of dizzying perspective and musical dexterity. I have not encountered such a moving and terrifying collection of poems in years.

Kevin Prufer

Sometimes dark, sometimes tender, always surprisingly imaginative. … [Paper Doll Fetus] explores pregnancy and childbirth in entirely unexpected ways.

Library Journal

This book fascinates, surprises, engages, and enlightens on well-trodden subject matter; it is an achievement among contemporary project books. … This book ups the game.

Foreword Reviews

Through the use of multiple perspectives and probing repetitions, Hoffman demands that her reader confront his or her own delicate origin and inevitable demise.

Blackbird