Opening the Doors of the Temple

Annalee Kwochka’s Opening the Doors of the Temple cries and decries, the powerful, desolate person at the center of these poems a victim of wonder and woe. She’s right to invoke Sexton, Freud, and Kübler-Ross, to name the terms of her sentencing. And the poems are right as well—too right, down to the meanest enjambment, 'Always so carefully / pieced together,' and full of terror.

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Praise for Opening the Doors of the Temple

“Annalee Kwochka’s Opening the Doors of the Temple cries and decries, the powerful, desolate person at the center of these poems a victim of wonder and woe. She’s right to invoke Sexton, Freud, and Kübler-Ross, to name the terms of her sentencing. And the poems are right as well—too right, down to the meanest enjambment, ‘Always so carefully / pieced together,’ and full of terror.”

—Alan Michael Parker

“The twenty poems in Opening the Doors of the Temple are a remarkable coming of age cycle, where private and public self are scrutinized, revealed, reviled and celebrated. These poems are as rigorously crafted as they are unflappable in their courage. Annalee Kwochka’s mature debut is a thrilling glimpse from a poet I am certain we’ll have the good fortune to read for many many years.”

—Dr. Victoria Redel

About the Author

Annalee Vilen Kwochka is an undergraduate Disability Studies Major at Davidson College in North Carolina, where she does research on the stigma surrounding mental illness and hopes to pursue graduate work in Clinical Psychology. Poetry is her first love and a lifelong passion; she sees both poetry and science as powerful voices in her journey towards mental health both for herself and others.

Annalee’s poems have previously appeared in Emerge Literary Journal and the NC Poetry Society’s annual awards journal, Pinesong. She also occasionally stumbles into the world of spoken-word poetry (recordings of her poems can be found on Davidson College’s spoken-word youtube Channel, FreeWord Poets). Her poetry focuses on ideas of origin, family, mental illness, and the Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina, where she grew up. In particular she explores her own experiences with anxiety, depression, and dermatillomania (also known as compulsive skin picking) and how they impact her relationship with the world.

She has had the extraordinary good fortune to work with extraordinary poets and teachers throughout her life, including Alan Michael Parker, Drs. Victoria Redel and Anthony Abbott, and former North Carolina Poet Laureate Cathy Smith Bowers.

Feel free to contact Annalee at ankwochka@davidson.edu

Opening the Doors of the Temple

Praise for Opening the Doors of the Temple

About the Author

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