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Somehow the unique spelling and language Jos Charles uses throughout feeld is capable of alluding to so many different influences at once while also being completely singular. When I look at the words on these pages, I think of so many things: Chaucerian English, as the book jacket so politely tells me, the way a child may speak, the spelling and cadence of servants in classic novels (I’m thinking of Joseph in Wuthering Heights), phonetics. I’ll admit that the overarching impression the language in this book gives me is ‘childlike’, not Middle English. The Middle English spelling is clear in many places, but the spelling of the tiny connecting words like “wut”, “ther”, “r”, has the most impact on me. The innocence I perceive behind that voice staggers beneath the weight of the aggressive and hate-fueled world these meek words engage with. The phonetic and naïve spellings of longer words like “arkitektur” and “ontologicklie” give the impression of a pure and innocent consciousness trying to make sense of a complicated society that has so many more invisible rules, linguistic and otherwise, than this individual could possibly fathom.
Another effect of non-standardized spelling is the added effect of each word that is spelled correctly. Each time I came across words like “metonymic,” “rupture,” “gastric,” and “corpse,” I was inclined to pause and consider the apparent importance of these usages. These words often appear near the beginning of poems or at the very end, imparting a sense of gravity upon the whimsical forms and spelling used throughout the collection.
There is also something very moving about the simplistic use of the word “hole” as a reference to any genital orifice. This replicates some of the ambiguity the speaker possibly feels or has felt throughout her trans existence. The slash form of poetry speaks clearly to social division, separation, and the surgical realities of the speaker’s experience as a transgender woman. Not only does Jos Charles wield unusual forms of English by creating unique spellings, she also constructs her own words to further represent the emotional and physical realities of a trans person in our society. My favorite word that she creates and utilizes in this collection is “invagynate,” which creates a unique disembodied feeling of womanness to me. As a trans woman, Charles becomes “invagynated”, which to me implies that, as a biological woman, I was born “invagynated” and have lived my whole life this way. This prods me into feeling that invagynation is a process imposed by exterior forces, particularly misogyny and gender traditions.
This collection is so clearly in touch with the realities of modern society and much of it seems to take place in public places, particularly bathrooms, yet the title refers to the strands of natural imagery that Charles has woven throughout. Every so often, a poem shifts from the interpersonal to the natural, with repeated references to “feelds,” “treees,” and “nayture.” Horses, mares particularly, make repeat appearances in these pastoral scenes, seeming to indicate a longing for the unbridled freedom of the wild.
Overall, this collection is exceedingly unique and augmented by the fact that, even with its unusual and sometimes difficult spellings, it is a quick read that encourages two read-throughs within a sitting. There is a balance here of puzzle and unadorned clarity that makes the reader want to get closer instead of feeling shut away.