A History of Touch is an intriguing anthology of eerie poetry with a nudge at the Gothic. The collection did a great job of capturing these moods and aesthetic even if there weren't many really memorable passages that are going to stay with me. Still, I think this is worth picking up and experiencing at least once. The poems' general theme and melancholic vibe appealed to me, and could reach a wider audience given the right circumstances. To be honest, I'm shocked not much has been said about this collection especially over on TikTok.

Thanks to NetGalley and Guernica Editions for providing me with an ARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

If you have never read a poetry collection that resonates with you then you need to get your hands on this text.

“A History of Touch” is one of my favourite poetry collections. It’s a perfect addition to the growing number of books which give voice to voiceless women in history. As Emily Dickinson wrote: “Tell all the truth but tell it slant —“, Erin makes fresh the fates of both infamous and unknown women without holding back. The collection is 100% feminist gothic rage. Not for the faint hearted, as is the case with so many women’s lives, historical and contemporary.

A 2023 “Women’s History Month Reading Suggestion”.

I am one who usually struggles with poetry, but I really enjoyed the ones that I read in A History of Touch. They were well written and meaningful, and that is all you can really hope for in poetry, right? That the poems make you feel something, and this collection of poetry did.

Thank you for providing me with an arc. I found the novel to be overall quite thoughtful and thought-provoking! I wasn’t sure this would be as good as it was and it exceeded my expectations. I am definitely looking forward to what this author is going to put our next! Thank you for providing me with an arc. I found the novel to be overall quite thoughtful and thought-provoking! I wasn’t sure this would be as good as it was and it exceeded my expectations. I am definitely looking forward to what this author is going to put our next!

I loved how the poems took historical events and folklore to give voices to women who weren’t listened to or who’s voices were taken away. I found the poems most impactful knowing who or what they were about (and had fun learning the historical context). Some are easy to look up because the names or keywords are in it or from notes in the back, but not all are and those I had more trouble understanding. I think it’s worth bookmarking the notes in the back because I didn’t read it until the end and then had moments where I went, “wait, that poem was about a banshee?” I rec this most to readers that enjoy hidden history/hearing from voices that have been ignored as well as true crime and folklore fans (and there’s likely a lot of overlap between the two).

3.5 stars.

A History of Touch by Erin Emily Ann Vance is a collection of feminist poems exploring some of the persecuted and punished women of history.

The description specifies women who were ill, disabled, or considered hysteric, but I didn't feel like that element was a prominent aspect of the way the poems were represented (the focus was definitely on womanhood and misogyny and any disability or ableism featured was incidental. I'm not knocking it for being what it is, rather it was a bit disappointing to find it wasn't what was described. I feel baited into reading it (as a chronically ill disabled woman, I'm always trying to read more disability poetry), which is disappointing because I know it hurt my opinion of a book I otherwise enjoyed.

The poetry itself is good, the poet has a great sense of word flow and the feminist subject matter is right up my alley. I'm also a huge sucker for history, so it was great to explore a little of it through poetry. I appreciated the notes at the end that added historical context for the poems in case you aren't familiar with all of the subjects (I was familiar with many but not all and it was very helpful to have the extra info at the end). I do wish that its subjects hadn't been quite so white across the board, but if the author was trying to stay in her lane I definitely respect that. It's maybe not a favourite, but I definitely still enjoyed it quite a bit, and some of the poems especially stood out.

Overall, it's a very solid collection of feminist poetry that I would recommend (especially for those going in without incorrect expectations). I'll be keeping my eye out for the poet's name in the future, I'd be interested in reading more of her poetry.

It really is my bad luck that it got archived before i could read it. I was predisposed that i would certainly love it. i really only have myself to blame for it.
Will definitely be reading it though.
Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving the eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a very good short poem book. I loved most of the poems in this and I'm very grateful I was allowed to read this.

Rating - 4.5 / 5

Such an interesting and captivating read, Erin you did an amazing job at writing this collection. It was so entrancing and the way you expressed the events was amazing. The topic and the writing style went so well with each other and it was just amazing. I finished it in like 30 minutes because of how good it was, maybe even less. There was no moment while reading that I wanted to put the book down. The reason I didn't give the book a full 5 star rating is because the book doesn't have everything it could. It feels like it's missing something and I really wish I could say what it is but I don't know. Something about the book feels not there. Maybe it is because its an ARC or maybe it's just me. But I did still love reading it.

horor poetry about women by women is literally my entire aesthetic. 😔🤘

first of all, this is the one of the most incredible collections i've ever read. the imagery is extremely vivid, which makes for an incredibly haunting experience. the metaphors are sublime. the final lines pack a punch.

most (if not all?) the poems had allusions to nature and the environment, which reminded me a lot of sylvia plath's work. these poems, however, are much darker and more feminist.

also, each poem tells an entire story almost. even the shorter ones. it's truly a talent.

some entries had names at the beginning of who they were inspired by, and even names inserted mid-poem. i wish ALL the poems specified who they were inspired by, to be honest. that's actually my only qualm. the quick notes at the end weren't enough. at least, i don't think they were a complete list?

anyway, this book is about to send me into a deep dark rabbit hole of twisted history. researching about "mad" women is almost a hobby of mine. i love powerful poetry about women and their struggles.

i recommend this collection to poetry lovers, horror lovers who are interested in getting into poetry, to feminists, to women, to everyone.

"When I was young
and talked to the fairies,
I did not see in the pool of my future
a busy house and an empty body"

A History of Touch is a fascinating collection of morbid gothic poetry. While the collection didn't have many standout moments for me (besides the one quoted above which, for some reason I can't explain, literally gave me chills?) it still managed to convey the atmosphere really well.

I genuinely enjoyed the darkness and the overall theme of the poems. There's a sense of beauty in the coherence here that made me quite like the book despite the fact that maybe I didn't fully understand everything or truly feel everything that was depicted here. I do wish that some of the notes that were described in the appendix of the book actually came earlier and, in a way, even accompanied the poetry since a lot of the time the poem was in reference to something quite obscure and so, knowing which crime or historic event it was alluding to would have really helped in the poem landing the blow it intended to. Regardless, quite a well-written collection and one I'd recommend if you're into poetry.

A History of Touch is a lyrical hall of horrors that explores the darkness, the gore, and the painful things many women have to go through. Vance walks in the shoes of many silenced, hidden, and maligned women in history, and in each poem, she unearths their pain and screams so loudly that anyone cannot help but hear.

The first poem, All the Women You've Ever Touched, sets the stage for this Gothic horror show: mangled bodies, grotesque carnage, burning rage. It is a collective fire that pulls you in and demands you to declare where you stand because it is silence of allies that killed them all.

What makes this whole collection even more unsettling is Vance's signature mic-drop move: The last line of each poem is often an action directed to the reader--Feel them. Lick.--inducing the senses and ending with a sensation that lingers long after closing the book.

This collection of poems was powerful, haunting and the perfect amount of gothic and macabre. The essence of the poems spoke to me and the underlying rage of some poems felt like a rightful tribute to all the “difficult” women that were abused in history.
I was surprised to see this poetry was more traditional than what I imagined, and probably for that reason, I did not always get what the lyrical imagery was referencing. I found the end notes to be very helpful, but I would have liked to read them either before or right after the poems they were about, because I clearly missed some of what was said on the first reading.
I think it’s a collection I will have to re-read to appreciate fully.

I really enjoyed this poetry, it painted such vivid images with beautiful words. I had high expectations for this and it definitely lived up to it!

I thought this book was quite moving. It was deep and dark, yet also made me want to be a bad bitch and take no shit from any man. The only issue (and its totally on me) is that I didn't always know which historical person was being referenced. I need to brush up on my women's history!

content warnings: death, abuse, miscarriage, body horror, ableism, menstruation, pregnancy, violence, sexism, misogyny

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While it certainly isn’t the first or the last of it’s kind, Erin Vance shines new light on themes of motherhood, misogyny and violence against women in A History of Touch. This vivid and haunting collection of poetry is about the women history would have you forget about - the ones labeled ‘difficult’ or ‘hysterical’. With poems focusing on those women, the ones who have been mistreated simply for existing in a world that holds men above all else, this collection is immersive and thought-provoking.
Although I wasn’t familiar with many of the women mentioned in this collection of poetry, half the fun was in researching their stories and rereading the poems to connect the dots. I didn’t realize there was a reference sheet in the back of the book until I’d already finished but I’m certainly not going to complain about it. I truly enjoyed learning about these women from history that I hadn’t heard of before.
While I wish there had been a bit more warning about the contents of this book, I truly enjoyed this collection of poems and can’t wait to read more of Erin Vance’s work in the future.

This collection is beautiful, innovative, and heart-wrenching. Though I didn't love every piece, the vast majority were poignant and full of emotion.

3.5 stars

This is an impressively horrific collection of poetry exploring various women throughout history. Filled with body horror and gruesome events wrapped in lyrical, visual text. I was amazed by just how much of a reaction this collection evoked.

Though there is a text explanation of some of the poems at the end I wish these descriptions had been woven throughout the collection. There were times when I felt very lost and the works started to blend together. The explanations would’ve provided a nice break and provided context.

eARC provided by NetGalley and Guernica Editions in exchange for an honest review.


“This is the waxen depth of unmarked women made of wire.”


Eerie and disturbing, A History of Touch paints images of women who are labeled "difficult" throughout history, told by the harsh brushstrokes of verses. The poems are as brutal as the way men and society treated and dehumanized these women, from Bridget Cleary and Rosemary Kennedy to various unnamed ones, maybe forgotten, but not without the lasting marks they left behind.

Even hours after reading this, I admit that I am still at a loss for words. This collection of poems is simultaneously engrossing and revolting, in a way that I didn't know could be fitting. But I think that's the allure of it: they are compelling to read because they are off-putting in the first place—the imagery Vance paints on the readers' minds through her words is clear, profound, and blood-soaked enough that they can't help but reel away at the start. I expected the poems to be visceral, but I didn't know that there were a lot of body horrors incorporated into them along with the depiction of injustices and crimes against women. While this might interest other readers, I find that this was exactly what threw me off-guard at first, making some passages difficult for me to read. This unique allure of Vance's writing, then, is what makes or breaks the collection, depending on the readers themselves and their tastes in poetry. The individual poems center around different women, most of whom I've heard nothing of prior, and some are folkloric. The insights and contexts of the pieces were lost to me, but searching on the internet provided some understanding. It turned out that there were actually historical references and notes about the women at the end of the book, which made me see the poems in a different and clearer light than before, that I had to reread some of them just to bask in the experience. Some of my favorite pieces are "Crow Theory" and "The Purported Last Words of Ruth Blay".


“Don't let my students watch, don't let the girls see. I haven't yet taught them what it means to be a woman.” Heart-wrenching in its honesty, these lines were what fully drew me in and made me realize that this poetry collection will be haunting me for a long time.


I would say that these poems cater to a specific type of reader, so I recommend this to anyone who enjoys gothic and horror poetry.


3.75 stars rounded off to 4.