by Rheanna Haaland

Catching Narcissus is a collection of poems which form a smooth, yet unsettling, reflection of the critical loathing and lustfully egotistical self. Through the intermittent lens of mythology and too-real modern life lessons, it is a story shaped by the caveat: “this is going to hurt.” From its old-flame trick-candle arsonist love story to the hydrocodone overdose, Haaland examines—and attempts to reconcile—recovery from crippling addiction and the endlessly resurrected, unwelcome love it both nurtures and asphyxiates.

About the Author

Rheanna Haaland (she/her/they/them) could say this book is about you. But it isn’t.

Haaland was raised by wolves on the prairie but relocated to Minneapolis, after finishing a bachelor’s degree in writing. Unsatisfied with writing alone, they considered several additional lines of work to compliment the necessary exorcism of poetry (including but not confined to copy editor, bookseller, web series producer, script writer, prep cook, pizza transportation specialist and actual batman). Haaland settled finally on pursuing a career as a surgeon.

While currently attending Northwestern Health Science University Haaland also works as a medical scribe in a local emergency room. (Countless HIPPA-compliant stories about will almost certainly prompt future collections. She loves it.)  She will remain in school for the foreseeable future, while continuing to write.

Haaland was the 3rd place winner of the 2018 Erotica Grand SlaMN Championship for spoken word poetry. Their work has appeared most recently in Auk Contraire, and The Same. The poem “—Me, Everyday” was previously printed in the 2019 edition of Red Weather Magazine, alongside many of her other pieces not published in this book. Haaland’s first collection An Eyeful of Hennepin Neon (The Poetry Box, 2018) is available through The Poetry Box website. She lives in Minneapolis with her outspoken tabby cat, Brummell, whose input on molecular geometry and organic chemistry homework is less than helpful. Both of them thank you for reading this far.

Early Praise for Catching Narcissus:

Rheanna Haaland’s book, Catching Narcissus, interweaves themes of classical mythology with stark overtones of mental torture and struggle. Themes of obsession, heartbreak, narcissistic abuse and recovery are all present in this wonderfully executed work, reflecting the authentic reality of human emotion when faced with the unnatural reality of loving a Narcissus. Absolutely worth a read for anyone who has struggled with love, loss, abandonment, or narcissistic abuse. Haaland’s words cut to the core of the human experience.

—Liz Collin (Red Eye Ruby)

R. S. Haaland takes you behind the eyes of a character tortured by addiction, obsession, and the allure of the darker things in life. Catching Narcissus is a sympathetic story with an undertone that is both unsettling and genuine.

—BIGnick, Kaleidoscope Nights

From broken to passing, Catching Narcissus begins fragmented and broken and ends with an idea of composure that invokes hope for a future. Haaland climbs out of a hole, carrying all the baggage that came out, and finds a way to survive. Mechanically thoughtful and brutally honest, Catching Narcissus doesn’t pull punches, even when those punches are directed inward.

—Tim Nunes, Senior Editor at PlayStation Universe

The post Catching Narcissus appeared first on The Poetry Box.

by Rheanna Haaland

An Eyeful of Hennepin Neon is a story of loss, thrill, and temptation, for anyone who has ever tried to claw their way out of savage memories with lonely sex and hard liquor. Haaland’s poems will lie through their teeth as they avoid eye contact with sensations and situations they refuse to dignify with names. From barbed-wire wastelands to the bright neon streets of a flyover metropolis, this is a story that won’t take silence for an answer.

About the Author

Rheanna Haaland (she/her/they/them) was raised by wolves in the middle of nowhere, North Dakota. They have written poetry since they were old enough to pick up a pen and earned a writing degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead to prove it. Circa 2014, David Bowie appeared to her in a dream and told her to move to Minneapolis. Which she did. She worked for a while at a bookstore two blocks from Hennepin Avenue. It has since closed.

Haaland is the 3rd place winner of the 2018 Erotica Grand SlaMN Championship for spoken word poetry. Her work has appeared most recently in Auk Contraire, The Same, and Red Weather Magazine. She would like to extend a special thanks to her biological and chosen families (particularly Coryn LaNasa, r.e. rahrich, and Timothy Nunes) and to you, the reader, for taking time to read this book. Special thanks are due as well to The Poetry Box for taking a chance on this chapbook. Haaland is currently in the process of finalizing her 2nd collection, Catching Narcissus, and applying to medical school. She still lives in Minneapolis with a cat named Brummell. If you’d like to buy her a drink later, she’s a year and a half sober. And busy.

[Twitter: @rheannahaaland • Instagram: thepoethaaland]

What They’re Saying…

“Rheanna Haaland writes physical poems, hands to mouth, fingers to skin, tongue to warmth. Very personal and very close contact, like you want to read them to someone in a whisper as you lie together. She also explores that human condition that is in all of us, convincing ourselves to want what isn’t necessarily good for us and to somehow justify pushing away what we need.”

~ Matt Amott, Poet
Co-founder/publisher of Six Ft. Swells Press

The post An Eyeful of Hennepin Neon appeared first on The Poetry Box.