This was an interesting retelling of Helen of Troy. Thank you to NetGalley, Maria Zoccola, and Scribner for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Maria Zoccola’s Helen of Troy, 1993 is a stunning poetry collection that reimagines the mythic figure of Helen of Troy within the confines of a small Southern town in the early 1990s. Through richly textured language and an unapologetically raw narrative, Zoccola transforms Helen into a modern woman who seeks to break free from the constraints of marriage, motherhood, and societal expectations. This collection blends mythology with contemporary struggles, creating a layered exploration of femininity, agency, and rebellion.

The poems trace Helen’s journey as she grows increasingly disillusioned with her life in the hills of Sparta, Tennessee. The Southern Gothic setting plays a crucial role in shaping Helen’s story, with Zoccola using the natural landscape—both lush and stifling—as a mirror for Helen’s emotional state. Helen is depicted as a woman trapped by the rigid expectations of a Southern housewife, and each poem reveals her desire for more: more freedom, more choice, more control over her life. Zoccola’s ability to root mythological figures in real-world settings adds a fresh dimension to Helen’s story, making her isolation, frustration, and rebellion feel urgent and relatable.

One of the most compelling aspects of Helen of Troy, 1993 is the way Zoccola captures the mundane settings—football games, Chuck E. Cheese, the bathroom of a Motel 6—and fills them with Helen’s inner turmoil. These everyday places become stages for Helen’s quiet acts of rebellion and moments of deep introspection. In these ordinary yet charged environments, Helen becomes a disaffected homemaker who feels alienated from the life she has built. She marries the wrong man, becomes a mother before she is ready, and embarks on an affair, all in a search for agency and meaning.

Zoccola’s poems are sharp, with moments of brutal honesty and defiance. Helen’s voice is strong, unflinching, and often demanding. She insists that the reader listen to her story without judgment, as evidenced in one of the most powerful lines from the collection: “if you never owned a bone-sharp biography… / i don’t want to hear it. i want you silent. / i want you listening to me.” This insistence on owning her narrative is central to Helen’s journey—she refuses to be defined by the roles imposed on her, instead reclaiming her story on her own terms.

The collection also plays with the blurred lines between myth and modernity. By juxtaposing Helen’s legendary beauty and tragic destiny with the ordinary struggles of a 1990s Southern woman, Zoccola reveals the timeless nature of Helen’s desire for freedom and self-determination. The mythological Helen, often seen as an object of desire and a catalyst for destruction, is reframed here as a woman who refuses to be objectified or silenced. Zoccola reclaims Helen’s narrative, giving her agency and voice in a way that previous interpretations of the character have often denied.

In addition to its exploration of gender and agency, Helen of Troy, 1993 offers readers a meditation on place and identity. The small town of Sparta, Tennessee, with its social rigidity and narrow expectations, becomes a symbol of the limitations imposed on women like Helen. Her attempts to break free from these constraints are portrayed as both an individual and universal struggle, one that resonates with readers who have felt confined by their circumstances or their environment.

Final Thoughts:
Helen of Troy, 1993 is a powerful, evocative collection that reimagines the myth of Helen for a modern audience. Maria Zoccola’s poetry is rich in detail, emotionally resonant, and unapologetically bold. By bringing Helen’s story into the everyday world of a small Southern town, Zoccola gives voice to the frustrations, desires, and rebellions of women who refuse to be defined by the roles they are expected to play. This collection is an unforgettable exploration of myth, modernity, and the complexities of womanhood, making it a must-read for fans of contemporary poetry and feminist retellings.

Thank you to NetGalley, Maria Zoccola, and Scribner for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

When I first saw this collection, it was the cover that got my attention... but then I read the extremely interesting synopsis. Helen of Troy, a Tennessean! Of my own backyard! As a fellow Tennessean, this was such a vivid telling. I could see myself as Helen, see those I know as Helen, all Southern women as Helen in some way, shape, or form; Southern women trapped in an endless rinse-and-repeat cycle of teenage beauty queen, marriage, babies, hunting season, and house wife activities. The author, too, being from my hometown of Memphis, TN, only made things more interesting. I feel as though this is a collection you have to sit with for a while, digest, possibly re-read in order to really suck every morsel off the bone.

This is an atmospheric poetry collection that is a reimagining of the story of Helen of Troy. I was initially interested in this poetry collection because of its connection to Greek mythology. The collection focuses on themes of motherhood, womanhood, and free will by following the life of a housewife in Tennessee.

Usually I tend to struggle to understand poetry, and to really pick up on what the poet wants the reader to gain from the poems. I had this same struggle here, although this is not necessarily a bad thing. Poetry is meant to get the reader pondering about the themes and meanings of the poems.

This is a collection that I would recommend broadly, even to people who do not tend to read poetry. However, I think you would get more out of this story if you knew a little bit about the relevant Greek mythology.

Thanks to Scribner and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

This was a really wonderful and moving poetry collection. It connected the story of Helen of Troy to that of an unhappy housewife — a connection I couldn’t have imagined before but that was done beautifully. I also really loved the afterword and would recommend reading it to really tie the poems together and give them even more context.

This was an interesting retelling of Helen of Troy. I love Greek mythology so I was interested in reading this retelling of Helen of Troy as a housewife in 1990s Tennessee. This is honestly a little difficult to review and I kept going back and forth on whether to give this two or three stars. The poems discuss motherhood, marriage, and the chores and duties she has in her life. As usual with poetry collections, some were great and others just didn't resonate with me.

What a lovely collection of poems! I’m a sucker for retellings and find the Greek mythology and epics especially compelling, so I was thrilled to stumble upon this book. Helen of Troy as a woman who has fallen from grace in the eyes of her small town neighbors—this is a fresh perspective that I really enjoyed. Helen of Troy enduring scorn at a child’s Chuck E Cheese birthday party? Brilliant. For me, the story really built up as I read, I wasn’t hooked immediately but the payoff was great. I think it is worth rereading since I suspect some of the earlier poems will sink in better the second time around.

Thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for providing me an ARC.