This is a journey on becoming what you hate, reflecting how you got there, and how to get back from it, if you can.
Penance of the Byronic Hero
by Paula Macena
Genre: Narrative Poetry
Penance of the Byronic Hero is a narrative poetry collection that highlights emotional trauma in religious upbringings, specifically within marginalized communities, and how it reflects on personal relationships. Separated into four different acts, it recounts heavy topics in their rawest form, including mental illness and domestic violence, and the perspective of one who is toiling through these things and attempting to find a way out.
Penance of the Byronic Hero is full of heartache and beauty. Both the wonders and pains that come with the act of living. -Goodreads review
I was slightly skeptical of this book as I don’t tend to enjoy poetry collections. I find them to be disjointed, overelaborate, and somehow still flat and distant. Paula’s book was none of those things. The writing were clear reflections of a series of experiences and ideas. Acute relatability yet still unique expressions existed on every page. -Goodreads review
Paula Macena is, above all, a writer. Aside from being published in Jr High the Magazine, Culturally Arts Collective, and Prometheus Unbound, her most recent poetry collection, Penance of the Byronic Hero was released in June 2023. In her pursuit of shedding light on marginalized writers, she hosts local writers’ events throughout Southern California. When she isn’t writing, you can find her making too much coffee, watching The Vampire Diaries, and staring lovingly at her cats.
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GUEST POST
I can’t remember ever not being a writer. I started when I was about seven years old, with a
short song and a melody in my head, and quickly worked my way up to poems and full novels
before I was in middle school. I self-published when I was 13, and again at 15, and submitted
poems and short stories to magazines while in college. It took time to craft a writing style that
felt entirely like me, but Penance of the Byronic Hero was the first collection that I didn’t have
imposter syndrome about.
I’ve always been a lover of fiction works, especially the process of character-building. In writing
these poems, most of which were written in the span of a month, I found myself subconsciously
building a storyline that follows a character who fits the trope of the Byronic hero. When people
would ask me what my book is about, I’d say, “Well, imagine if the Byronic hero had a
redemption arc.” The melancholy, troubled character who keeps everyone at arm’s length—what
if they learned to love again?
It’s been a year now since I published this book, but three years since I wrote the majority of
these poems. Every time I do a poetry reading, this book still contains some of my favorites to
read. I hope you’ll love reading them, too.
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$10 Amazon giftcard,
ebook of Penance of the Byronic Hero
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This looks like a good book of poetry. Thanks for sharing.
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