Publishing Announcement: I WROTE A CHAPBOOK AND YOU CAN READ IT!

My debut poetry collection, Francesca Dons Beatrice's Cloak: A Lovergirl's Guide through Dante's Inferno, is available NOW through Bottlecap Press!

I am overjoyed, off-my-mind, over-the-moon excited to share that my debut poetry collection, Francesca Dons Beatrice’s Cloak: A Lovergirl’s Guide through Dante’s Inferno, has been published by Bottlecap Press. You can purchase it here.

This book was truly a labor of love — I remember finishing the manuscript and telling my sister that I physically felt like I had given birth. The idea came to me sudden and furious and would not let me go until it was complete.

Here’s an excerpt from the back cover of the book, by way of description:

---

“In ancient Greek, there is a special word to describe the feeling between soulmates: homophrosyne. It translates to ‘like-mindedness.’ Homer employs it in The Odyssey to describe Penelope and Odysseus’ relationship – this idea that there is a mutual understanding between some lovers that equates almost to sharing a single mind, regardless of distance or obstacle. That they would know each other anywhere.

In the opening poem of this collection, we are introduced to Francesca, made famous in Dante’s Divine Comedy. In that work, she is condemned to hell for her passion for her lover, Paolo. This work asks: What if that trait was what got a girl into heaven? What if she followed Dante’s same geographical path, but in a landscape where True Love is God, Hell is Separation, and Heaven is Reunion? What would that odyssey look like?

In this story, Francesca and her lover have been separated, and must journey through the underworld on separate but parallel paths. Can she, armed only with her belief in love – her innate sense of homophrosyne – survive the underworld and beyond?”

---

The poems are told from the perspective of a variety of characters — Francesca herself (also made famous in Hozier’s latest and greatest otherworldly banger), other characters from Dante’s Divine Comedy, and various characters found in Greek mythology. These characters advise, mislead, encourage, and delay Francesca as she makes her way through the underworld.

If you know me even a little bit (or have read any of my writing here on Substack), you know that I am a romantic, through and through. These poems are, ultimately, a love letter. They are my personal myth, my individual addition to the collective.

It is not an exaggeration to say that this book would not have been possible without my 3 readers: Amy Bornman, Hannah Cruz, and my sister, Arielle (too cool for the internet). Their perspective, feedback, insight, and encouragement were invaluable. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You already know. The team at Bottlecap Press is truly unmatched — they’ve made the publishing process not only easy, but joyful. I’m profoundly grateful.

I’m so proud of this book, and thrilled to pass it off into your hands, reader. I would love to hear what you think when you read it — drop me a line! Spread the word! Buy it for your crush! And if any of my readers here are affiliated with a local bookstore, let me know. I’d love to drop you a line about sending you a copy!

XOXO