If you’ve read the award-winning poetry book “Dirty Pretty Things,” then you are already familiar with the works of New Zealand writer Michael Faudet.
“Cult of Two” is Faudet’s fifth book, which was released in November of 2019. It is a collection of chilling poetry that haunts Faudet’s mind, as he warns readers that they too may be possessed by the words which are “dripping with magic and mischief.”
The poems in “Cult of Two” explore a never-ending cycle of love, lust and gut-wrenching heartbreak. They draw light to the contradictions of being with someone completely, yet feeling so alone at the same time. Throughout the collection, the importance of growing as a person and facing your past as our personal history can be our greatest teacher.
On the surface, these works grab the readers’ attention with beautiful imagery. While vivid sensory experiences like the smell of incense burning, the bitter taste of burnt toast or the feeling of snow against your face paint a vivid picture in the minds of readers, these poems serve a greater purpose than to provide a pretty picture.
These complex works increase in depth each time you read them, almost becoming a different, new poem. Some of our favorite poems from the collection that we suggest reading are “Saint-Germaine,” “The Two of Us,” “Mousetraps,” and “Mass Delusion.”