Intimacies, Received signals agency, as trauma is
held to the light and finally named.
In this astonishing second collection by Taneum Bambrick,
violence hides in the glint of the carving knife—every intimacy a shadow, every
memory a maze to navigate. Set primarily in rural Southern Spain, Intimacies,
Received moves through streets and fields, households and years, following
a survivor of sexual assault as she painstakingly reassembles a narrative of
self. A brilliant storyteller, Bambrick builds through palimpsest—layering
vivid imagery to recall embodiment and dissociation, illness and isolation,
queer female sexuality amidst acts of misogyny—utilizing varied forms including
ekphrasis, persona, and a lyric essay. Ultimately, Intimacies, Received
signals agency, as trauma is held to the light and finally named.