REVIEW: Will You Still Love Me If I Love Her by Elfie

Publisher: Self-pub
Release Date: February 27, 2019
Received From: Review copy from the author

This is a debut poetry chapbook about a woman’s experiences with same-sex attraction and accepting her queer identity. It explores self-discovery and the fear of being rejected by family and friends through 18 poems, three of which have been published in online literary magazines.

This sapphic collection features poems ‘Attraction’ and ‘Fraud’ first published by Royal Rose Magazine and ‘TV’ featured in Issue 3 of Constellate Literary Journal.

SEXUALITY: lesbian
ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: homoromantic

TAGS: poetry, queer author, coming out, ownvoices
WARNINGS: anti-queerness, slurs, self-harm, alcohol, anti-aro language, religion (Christianity), cissexism/anti-trans language, anti-queer family

This collection is breathtakingly lovely and relatable.

With WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME IF I LOVE HER?, Elfie masterfully illustrates the journey that so many queer people experience, from the realization, denial, self-acceptance, and the fear that this will change things and cause them to be rejected by friends and family. It’s a terrifying process to go through, and Elfie lays it out so perfectly in so few words. I wish there were more poems in the chapbook because I loved all the ones that are in there, but I also think she chose the perfect ones for what she was trying to do.

One aspect of this collection that I really like is the concept that queerness and religion can go hand-in-hand–being queer doesn’t mean you can’t be religious, and being religious doesn’t mean you can’t be queer. In our current world, we tend to only hear about the ways in which various religions reject queer people and are generally unwelcoming, but it’s important to recognize that this isn’t true or applicable to all religious groups. And I like that Elfie included it in her exploration of queerness and self-acceptance, because it’s important to have that side of the coin reflected in media as well.

WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME IF I LOVE HER? really touched me on a personal level because much of what Elfie has written about here mirrors my own experiences, and I’m grateful I got a chance to read this.

Elfie is a queer writer (she/her) from Derbyshire, England. She has a Master of Arts in publishing and dreams of owning her own press. When she isn’t writing, she plays the piano and watches horror films with her grandparents.

http://www.elfieinbloom.co.uk
twitter/instagram: @elfieinbloom
elfieinbloom@gmail.com

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