Small White Monkeys

Book excerpt: Small White Monkeys is a fragmented essay that includes poems and images on self- expression, self-help, and shame. Beginning with the image of small white monkeys, the text examines the authors relationship with shame through a series of short studies on cats, hair as a metonym for the self in poetry and fiction, and perceptions of sexual violence, among other things. Using the Glasgow Womens Librarys Archive Collections and Lending Library for research, Collins incorporates material from the librarys archives and the work of female creators past and present, including Anna Mendelssohn, Jean Rhys, Selima Hill, Adrian Piper, June Jordan, Denise Riley, vahni Capildeo, and veronica forrest-Thomson. Based in edinburgh, Collins is the editor of Currently & Emotion, an anthology of contemporary poetry translations. She was featured in Penguin Modern Poets 1, alongside work by Anne Carson and emily Berry, and has been recognized for her extensive poetic works.