Trista Mateer has been cemented as a favorite poet for me, thanks to this collection. A mix of poetry and multimedia art, Artemis Made Me Do It takes life experiences for so many women—harassment, assault, insecurity, toxic relationships, having her queerness questioned and erased—and melds them with the infamous tale of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.

There is so much pain, and grief, and anger, and vengeance in these poems, and it both soothed and stoked the flames of a primal rage that I, like so many others, live with every day. Have you ever tried to review a piece of media that hit so close to home, you can't fully express your thoughts on it without flaying yourself raw, too? That's how I'm feeling right now.

If you enjoy angry, emotional poetry with a focus on trauma, grief, and healing, this is for you. If you enjoy feminist rants and a fiery need for a better world, this is for you. If you enjoy tales of deities, both kind and unkind, and the ways in which their stories still continue to shape the world around us and how we view it, this is for you. I adored this collection and cannot possibly recommend it highly enough.

✨ Representation: queerness, sapphic relationships