Lilith’s Compost Pile

I have been reading Lilith: Queen of the Desert, a Lilith devotional compiled and edited by Anya Kless and published by Knickerbocker Circus Press. Full disclosure: one of my poems is in it. So hey, quality literature at it’s finest already.

I have to say that I found some sections in the latter part of the book a little weak, mainly due to the authors not defining terms used or explaining philosophical stances taken by their respective subcultures.  There’s a difference between writing for your own home folks and writing for a wider audience. However, the book as a whole is evocative, illuminating, and thought-provoking, even inspiring. Some of the poetry is pretty good, too…

Lilith has a special place in the Feri Tradition; Victor Anderson described her as the deity worshipped by the Harpy Coven, the group who taught him in the 1920s and 30s. The coven’s name reflected Her form: winged, talon-footed, wild. The title of Anderson’s posthumous volume of poetry is Lilith’s Garden (Harpy Press). I found that many of the things said about Lilith in Kless’ book…that she is a harbinger of transformation, that she will push you towards self-knowledge and authenticity, and sometimes turn your life upside down…could also be said about Feri practice. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. Though any spiritual path passionately followed tends to do those things, some are fiercer about it than others.

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