March 20, 2018
A new review of my novel-with-photographs A LONG CURVING SCAR WHERE THE HEART SHOULD BE by Sara Rauch in Necessary Fiction. A few excerpts:
“In light of the frightening abuses of power currently shaking America, the recent events in Charlottesville and the ongoing conversation around the removal of confederate monuments, and the increased visibility of the assaulted female body, Wikswo’s new novel is highly relevant to our cultural moment. A Long Curving Scar Where the Heart Should Be deserves a place on the shelf of classic American literature—opening, as good books always do, our eyes to a world previously obscured from view.”
“Visibility, and its sister intention, exposure, are not easy—to capture or witness—but Wikswo succeeds mightily in A Long Curving Scar Where the Heart Should Be, and she achieves one further coup: the creation of a breathtaking piece of art.”
“Quintan Ana Wikswo possesses a singular vision. Her methodology—which includes the use of segregation era cameras, and involves absolutely no digital manipulation—allows for eerie images that capture the complex and contradictory nature of history. The images within A Long Curving Scar Where the Heart Should Be are already haunting, and when placed alongside Wikswo’s gothic, revelatory text, they create an aesthetic that is electrifying and provocative in the best possible way.“