"lovette" from lykaia
"fervor and futility (and other words that start with f)" from lykaia
"funeral march for freya" from lykaia
"bunny's revenge" from lykaia
"interlude from thea" from lykaia
debut poetry chapbook
lykaia
Lykaia gets its name from the myth of an ancient Greek festival that tells the tale of people consuming human flesh and turning into werewolves. They could only morph back if they didn’t take a single bite of human flesh for nine years. This chapbook follows a similar evolution. Lykaia reflects on what it means to be a woman, what it’s like to be made into a monster for simply existing. When a woman attempts to regain her power, her anger and agony become her greatest weapons; if it is a monster they want, it's a monster they'll get. However, somewhere along the way, the realization sets in that perhaps revenge is not dedicating the rest of one's life to punishing those who have wronged you, perhaps it is allowing oneself to feel joy again.
Cheav’s debut poetry chapbook uses fantastical folklore and myths to articulate the pain of being a woman who’s suffered at the hands of men. Lykaia gives space to scream over a cliffside and sob violently, for the horrors of grief and the struggles of healing. This chapbook is for those who know rage like it’s a sack of rocks tied to their ankles and those who are looking for a place to put it down.
take the character quiz below to find out which lykaia wolf you are. to enter, solve this short crossword puzzle to figure out the password (hint: think of transformation or metamorphosis!)
Listen to the Lykaia playlist below
Featuring Samia, Mitski, Billie Marten, Bjork, Ichiko Aoba, Brenda Lee, and more