Head to Toe of It is a wild ride on a clothes horse, a clever game show with “all you can eat spaghetti westerns” and “dew-sprinkled sprigs of rosemary and thyme/tucked overnight under tongues” of shoes, where “The Poetnistas” wear “The teal/peach and chartreuse of a pencil/skirt.” Rikki Santer writes her answer in the form of a question: Who wants to be a milliner? then stitches together Ginger Rogers, Queen Liliuokalani, Matroyshka dolls, Neanderthals, Annie Oakley, Lady Gaga, Eve and many more, in a Kmart dime novel, a catwalk, a swanky store, Moonrise Kingdom, wearing red buttons, quarantine sweatpants, “gauzy negligees, saucy slippers,” “frenzied sneakers,” “daisy Kmart sandals” 18-hole boots, a training bra, “perky knee socks,” “bondage trousers” or a martingale back. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. It’s great sartorial fun.
— Karen Schubert, Poet and Author of The Compost Reader
Adornment, aesthetic, artifact, archetype, agency—Rikki Santer knows that fashion does far more than dazzle. Head to Toe of It delights in savvy details, in sequin and tulle and brim and heel. There are delight and glamour here, and it feels most welcome. Santer’s smart chapbook revels in what clothes provide and communicate. “How many stories can live inside your story?”she asks. These poems rightly point to garments as stories and storytellers, reminding us that there are power and possibility where there’s authorship.
— Hannah Stephenson, Poet and Author of In the Kettle, the Shriek, and Cadence
Rikki Santer completely gives the complex world of fashion a new perspective through her ability to bring different aspects of it to life with her wordsmithery, exposing readers to fashion as if for the very first time. Her words build a showroom in your head and let fashion come to life as you perceive it, creating a very personal, sometimes political, experience. Each poem can stand alone but they also merge together in a collaborative spirit, connecting the literary arts to the art of fashion in surprising and validating ways.
— Thomas McClure, Founder & Executive Director, Columbus Fashion Council & Fashion Week Columbus
WOUB Interview:
https://woub.org/2021/10/12/decorative-arts-center-of-ohio-to-feature-columbus-poet-rikki-santer/
ISBN: 978-1-954353-35-0 $16.00
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