“Killing Orpheus” by Forester McClatchey

In the titular poem of Forester McClatchey’s debut poetry collection, Killing Orpheus, the poet-prophet struggles to play a satisfactory song to the masses. From the start, we feel the audience wants sordid entertainment. When “sickle-girl” moves in, the crowd hushes: “Each cut she makes is a marvel of efficiency.” The crowd is drawn into the […]