“Riley argues throughout Heard-Hoard that stories define us and that the most primal ones are “radical”: arising from extremity and provoking equally extreme change (soul-splitting, and thus soul-making).”
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. . . the pain and alienation articulated by each character are nonetheless singular, as in the pitch-perfect (and perfectly paced) poem “Moth” . . .Transformed from person into thing, Candy endures a trauma so radical (in the moment, and in memory) that she can only speak of it through metaphor, or not at all.”