“Ruth Towne’s thrilling debut collection, Resurrection of the Mannequins, records a body’s journey, one undertaken with breathtaking ache, imagination, and intelligence. With the authority of Plath and the remove of Moore, Towne’s speakers talk back to the very notion of the Surreal. For as long as viewers have delighted witnessing the premiere Surrealists (mostly male) subvert the paradigm of the female body on a figurative level, women themselves have experienced the sheer torture that is the physicality this humorous invention inflicts. These poems are themselves exhibits in response to the exhibitionism of such artists. Towne’s real-live show down is thrillingly ambitious and delightful to witness.”

—Cate Marvin, author of Event Horizon