A Lamb Does Not Cry for Herself, by Chloe Hummel

Poetry, chapbook, 36 pages, from Bottlecap Features. A Lamb Does Not Cry for Herself is a visceral debut poetry collection about girlhood, beauty culture, and the turbulent relationship between the female body and the gaze that shapes it. The poems expose how women are desired, consumed, and often discarded—and how identity is clawed from the aftermath. Shifting between moments of vulnerability and rage, Hummel’s voice is sharp, witty, and self-aware. Blending the personal with the mythic, the collection moves through contemporary scenes—social media, bars, bedrooms—and the past, calling upon Greek goddesses, historical queens, and film icons. The poems confront the shame and relief found in being wanted, the fear of disappearing in the digital age, and the strength required in renewal. Animals and the natural world recur, tracing cycles of tenderness and violence, care and consumption, beauty and decay. Brutal, intimate, and often darkly funny, A Lamb Does Not Cry for Herself interrogates what it means to exist in a culture that devours women while demanding their silence. It insists on the body as evidence, memory as something that lives in the flesh, and voice as a form of resistance. Chloe Hummel is an author and certified Pilates and Yoga instructor. In 2024, she graduated from the University of Connecticut with a dual B.A. in English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, exploring new places to hike, and playing the piano. She lives in West Haven, Connecticut.