Hunger, Heteronormativity & The Galaxy
‘Hunger, Heteronormativity & The Galaxy’ (2023) is Lies Gallez’s poetry debut, published two years after her successful short story collection ‘Catching the water’ (2021). Gallez presents a personal yet critical reflection on conventional values in three sections, corresponding to the three words in the collection’s title. In each section, our glimpse into the speaker’s world expands, starting with individuality in ‘Hunger’, moving to relationships in ‘Heteronormativity’, and ending with the speaker’s place in society in ‘The Galaxy’.
The enormous variety of subjects and the diversity of viewpoints make the work exciting and charged.Awater
This poetry collection consistently explores the weight and complexity of life, though approached from different angles. While ‘Hunger’ focuses on the strong emotions of humankind and our need for consolation, the other two chapters reflect on the political and social aspects of contemporary society, including themes like homophobia, violence, capitalism, overconsumption, and the influence of social media.
Gallez’s language is precise, and her style is unconventional, often blurring the line with prose through her use of longer, flowing verses. True to the tone of the title, her language remains straightforward, yet this clarity is consistently interspersed with atmospheric passages that bring a remarkable diversity to her work.
Gallez clearly wanted to write an ambitious collection that combines numerous relevant themes with scenes of poetic wonder and romance. (…) this debut should definitely be taken seriously.Mappa Libri
