Oh My Rapture

“In Oh My Rapture, Gemma White stages the politics of fandom in percussive, edgy and unforgettable poems. White performs intense moments of intimacy and yearning against a backdrop of grief, so that lines such as ‘you dumped me in the psych ward’, ‘you kissed me in Dixons Recycled Music’, and ‘my madness is a burnt orange fox’ become deep entanglements of desire.”
– Cassandra Atherton, Professor of Writing and Literature, Deakin University

“Gemma White writes with radical honesty and wit about mental and spiritual health, love, creativity and exultation in Oh My Rapture. The direct voice and casual tone of these poems make the insights that suddenly sneak up on the reader all the more effectively disarming.”
– Claire Gaskin, Ismene’s Survivable Resistance

“Gemma White’s poems are maskless. There is a streak of non-conformity running through each of these poems; a tender transparency and an unapologetic poetic ‘I’. You will find bold snapshots of ‘inflamed’ connection and modern human disconnection conveyed in direct language.”
– Amanda Anastasi, The Inheritors

“Poetry that lives by its own rules, nothing you can find in a textbook. Full of life experiences you can’t make up. A total joy.”
– Matt Ryan, The Munster Times

“Oh My Rapture is a poetically immersive experience; a cool, edgy ride; an intimate collection done different; a rich journey through TWO hearts that makes poetry feel THREE dimensional. Reading each poem alongside the corresponding Red Hand File is like holding a tumbler to your ear and pressing it against your neighbour’s wall. These poems contain secrets. They are made for reading under the doona with a flashlight. They are deliciously voyeuristic.”
– ali whitelock, the lactic acid in the calves of your despair