BY MONIQUE QUINTANA
Monster narratives reveal the intricacies, politics, and unique discourse in a community of people. Here is a short list of readings that explore what it means to be a “monster.”
This poetry collection turns classic fairy tale tropes on their heads in order to examine loss, injustice, and the murderous mind.
Dorothy Hoobler and Thomas Hoobler’s The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein
A biography that explores the infectious bond between literary cohorts-- troubled, dangerous, glamourous, and genius.
Ahmed Saadawi’s Frankenstein in Bagdad
This novel is a darkly humorous retelling set amongst the grotesquerie of contemporary warfare.
This website keeps a stellar archive of writings on popular and obscure horror films through the lens of black women.
An examination of pop culture’s obsession and revulsion with single women.
“Always Gold, Never Silver: Wealth, Art, and Vampires” by Laura Diaz De Arce in Book Riot
Arce delves into the politics of the glamour fop and the blood sport of consumerism.
Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market”
A Victorian poem that looks at sisterhood, toxic masculinity, and the ever-present dangers of the neo-gothic forest.
Monique Quintana is the author of Cenote City(Clash Books, 2019), Associate Editor at Luna Luna Magazine, and Fiction Editor at Five 2 One Magazine. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from CSU Fresno and is an alumna of Sundress Academy for the Arts and the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. Her work has appeared in Queen Mobs Teahouse, Winter Tangerine, Dream Pop, Grimoire, and the Acentos Review, among other publications. You can find her at moniquequintana.com