I first met Christie Maragos at the Art Bar at the Free Times Cafe near Kensington Market. It’s a small venue, and Christie ended up sitting beside me.
It turned out she had never read at an open mic before, yet she had several publications to her name. From the moment she got up on stage, I felt a kinship with her work. I was particularly captivated by the way she read, as if it were the most effortless undertaking.
for every goddess
in love:
may it only
inspire you
to reclaim
everything you are.
–Christie Maragos
petite girl precious heart follows a narrative arc that closely aligns with the complexities and emotions experienced in an abusive relationship. the story of modern adam, as the title suggests, is a contemporary retelling of those initial days in a relationship where, instead of red flags, everything appears idyllic. The flaws that do exist seem fixable, don’t they?
…you’re searching the world for treasures but I lose track of time but sometimes it feels like thorns left on a Costco rose.
—Christie Maragos
eve’s quest for passion signals the first signs of the relationship failing, or perhaps more accurately, it marks the point when the other person starts pulling away, withholding love and bread-crumbing. This is just the beginning of what will unfold into a lonely and dark place where she must now climb out of by herself.
Christie’s paradox of choice might be seen as not much of a choice at all. Much like Stockholm Syndrome, it is devoid of real options, only a deeply embedded illusion that one’s captor is to be loved and forgiven.
There is a wonderfully luminescent side to petite girl precious heart that frames her situation as a journey of learning and returning to oneself. Like a phoenix rising, this collection of poetry speaks to those who love as well as those who have lost a relationship but gained a best friend in themselves.
How are you both my rebirth and the end of me?
—Christie Maragos
Smart, witty, and full of sage thinking, petite girl precious heart is an ode to the mended heart and a reminder that sometimes the best things in life come out of the worst.
Christie Maragos is also the author of crybaby and angels in heaven. She will be featuring at Poetry Open Mic at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre, August 18, 2024.
Review by Raymond Helkio for
The Reading Salon.
