The Door to Colour

Myra Schneider’s new collection of poetry brings a fresh sense of reality to some well-known images. Color is the keynote of the book, moving through Matisse, Hockney, and Chagall. Sound is explored too, in Mahler and Beethoven. Often we find skin-deep assumptions turned around: the gold of ancient Crete is not its jewelry but olives; a postbox’s bright exterior conceals menace; a major 20th-century artist only started painting by chance at the age of 20; and the long poem “Minotaur” makes it clear that the Minotaur is no monster, Theseus no hero. Focusing on art and myth, this collection is deeply attentive to women’s concerns and experiences.