Christine E. Ray (She/Her) lives outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A former Managing Editor of Sudden Denouement Publications, she co-founded Indie Blu(e) Publishing with Kindra M. Austin in September 2018. Ray is author of Composition of a Woman and The Myths of Girlhood. Her writing has also been featured in But You Don’t Look Sick: The Real Life Adventures of Fibro Bitches, Lupus Warriors, and other Superheroes Battling Invisible Illness, Through The Looking Glass: Reflecting on Madness and Chaos Within, As The World Burns: Writers and Artists Reflect on a World Gone Mad, SMITTEN: This Is What Love Looks Like, We Will Not Be Silenced: The Lived Experience of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Told Powerfully Through Poetry, Prose, Essay, and Art, Anthology Volume I: Writings from the Sudden Denouement Literary Collective, Swear to Me (Nicholas Gagnier), and All the Lonely People (Nicholas Gagnier).
Christine is a passionate fiber artist who has rarely met a craft supply she doesn’t like or a pattern she can’t alter. Currently yarn obsessed, over the decades she has learned to knit, crochet, quilt, weave, bead, and has dabbled in mixed media. Christine doesn’t have a spinning wheel… yet.
Christine E. Ray places her original poetry and prose alongside the fierce words and artwork of 45 talented global collaborators in her latest offering, Darker Objects.
Poignant Poetic solos, duets, and provocative political anthems are possessed with evocative titles illustrating their focus, including; ‘American Gothic’, ‘Ghosted’, ‘Nocturnes’, ‘Viral’ ‘Rooms so Still, So Silent’, ‘Tongue-Tied’, ‘Tenterhooks’, ‘Rage Against the Machine’, and ‘Feminist Manifesto’. These lightening threads of passion, rage, love, and grief are the dark, irresistible heart of Darker Objects.
Collaborators include creatives from around the globe with a multitude of talent: Kindra M. Austin, Kim D. Bailey, Elijah R. Carney, Jharna Choudhury, Ward Clever, Susan M. Conway, crystal x, Candice Louisa Daquin, Lynn Devora-McNabb, Sarah Doughty. Michael Erickson, Rachel Finch, Devereaux Frazier, Stephen Fuller, Nicholas Gagnier, Georgiana Grentzenberg, Iulia Halatz, Saide Harb-Ranero, Quatrina Hosain, Rachael Z. Ikins, Sun Hesper Jansen, Rana Kelly, Erin L. King, Mandy Kocsis, Aakriti Kuntal, John W. Leys, Lois Linkens, Nicole Lyons, Jamie Lynn Martin, Devika Mathur, Nathan McCool, S.K. Nicholas, Jack Neece, Allister Nelson, Jesica Nodarse, OldePunk, Basiliké Pappa, Zelda Reville, Kristiana Reed, Megha Sood, Eric Syrdal, Marcia J. Weber, Robert Wertzler, Laurie Wise, and Dom Wynette.
“In this ambitious multi-genre, multi-vocal project, Christine E. Ray and Friends weave together poems, essays and visual artwork that speak of grief, rage, memories, hauntings and dreamscapes. These works, as both singular poems and extended collaborations, tell compelling stories, almost like sharing secrets, all with deftly drawn imagery. Each piece can stand on its own, but the cumulative effect is powerful, weighty and authoritative.”
—Nancy Dunlop, Hospital Poems
“… across the volume, the effect is a kind of Greek chorus in which multiple poets’ work takes on a collective voice, achieving a unique timbre possible only through this impressive collaboration. The harmony rising from the pages expands the words until they become universal, letting the reader hear the notes of their own experiences among the chords.”
—Rachel Kobin, Greater Philadelphia Writers Workshop Studio
“These collaborative works are not cold, abstract experimental pieces. These are vast musical choral pieces, functioning as a powerful Greek chorus, resonating with grief and outrage, piercing us with raw emotion to spark us into action to create a better place for ourselves and our children…”
—Annette Kalandros, The Gift of Mercy
To purchase Darker Objects, click here.
Publication Date: September 27, 2023
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-951724-23-8
Hardback ISBN: 978-1-951724-24-5
eBook ISBN: 978-1-951724-25-2
Christine E. Ray’s award-winning debut poetry collection Composition of a Woman has been rereleased by Indie Blu(e) Publishing with 36 stunning new pieces of poetry and prose. Originally released in 2018 and awarded a Bronze Medal from the Readers Favorites Book Awards, Composition has been described as “an extraordinary glimpse into the essence of what it takes to make, and sometimes simultaneously break, a woman as strikingly powerful as she is beautiful.”
Split into five sections (Nerve, Brain, Breast, Rib, and Blood), Ray delves deeply into chronic invisible illness, depression, love, loss, and identity.
“The ingenious anatomical structure remains, with Ray taking us on a journey through her experience of physical and mental health, love, loss and being a warrior, feminist and advocate for many. The new pieces fit in seamlessly with the story Ray had begun to tell from the collection’s first release. . .”
-Kristiana Reed, Flowers on the Wall
“Poet Christine Ray’s first printed collection of poetry Composition of a Woman . . . is a striking, fearless foray into the psyche of womanhood, both highly relatable and intensely personal for female readers and achingly candid and fascinating for male.”
-Candice Louisa Daquin, Pinch the Lock
“Christine Ray brilliantly split Composition into five thoughtful sections that work together beautifully to deliver the maximum impact of each poem while taking the reader deeper into a stunning journey of the mind, the body, the very soul of this person. In Composition, Christine Ray reveals so much of what we try to hide, and she does so while dancing between ruthlessly beautiful and heartbreakingly painful.”
-Nicole Lyons, The Lithium Chronicles Volumes One and Two
To purchase Composition of a Woman, click here.
Publication Date: September 24, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-1732800076
Reviews of Composition of a Woman
Mariah Voutilainen Reviews Christine Ray’s Composition of a Woman
Justine Reyes for Readers’ Favorite
Imagine that Myths of Girlhood is a tapestry; feel the varying textures, and observe the movement of its patterns. In your hands, you hold the fibers of Christine E. Ray. For this book is much more than an arrangement of words. Myths is an experience—an exploration of madness and strength of will, illogic and rationality, all of which coexist inside a woman who is unafraid to let her soul speak. We were introduced to her exquisite truth-telling in Composition of a Woman. Myths of Girlhood is not a mere continuation, but a glass-breaking roar.
“The Myths of Girlhood by Christine E. Ray is a powerful collection of poems and Christine’s voice is raw and almost primeval at times. I loved reading these poems and could actually feel the surge of energy that bounces off the pages. These are poems that any human being would identify with, but especially women who have gone through struggles and trying times, whether it is sexual assault, domestic violence, mental health issues such as depression, addiction, or even simply a lack of equal freedom and opportunities in what still is predominantly a male-dominated patriarchal world. This is the voice of millions that Christine expresses and echoes through these poems. I liked almost all of the poems but some that stood out for me were Where My Ghosts Come Out to Play, Unrepentant, Survivor’s Guilt, Backside of the Night, Young Wolf, Blue Moon, Magical Memory, and more. This is a poetry collection that I would highly recommend.”
-Gisela Dixon, Readers’ Favorites
“The Myths of Girlhood by Christine Ray is an insightful and beautiful collection of verses that gives readers a peek into the many stories of the lives of women, the pain we carry, and the strength that lies within us, along with sharing skeins of her personal life that have led her to analyzing the psyche of girlhood and womanhood. She helps women readers look into the dark side of their lives which have left them crippled yet given them the immense strength to emerge as survivors. Dealing with the past, embracing the demons inside, and walking towards freedom form the crux of her poetry which is an encouragement to all those who are survivors.
It is a collection of self-discovery, courage, conviction, strength, and transformation, one that speaks to all poetry lovers. There is an element of pain and angst that runs through her verses, and the minimalist expressions and starkness bring this out, making them tangible. Her words capture the vulnerability, helplessness, and remorse of a survivor, which stands out in the poem ‘Introductions’. Every poem in the book is well worded and effective and will hit readers with unexpected beauty and profundity. ‘Breathe Out In Black’ is another poem that caught my attention with its darkness. For those readers who love poetry and poetic expressions, this collection is a must-read. They will love the honesty and straightforwardness that lingers in the poems and the way the emotions have been expressed is palpable while one is reading this collection.”
– Mamta Madhavan for Readers’ Favorite
To purchase The Myths of Girlhood click here.
Publication Date: January 23, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-1732800014
Indie Blu(e) Publishing 