Salmacis: Becoming Not Quite a Woman
As recounted by the Roman poet Ovid, a young nymph, Salmacis, one day spied Hermaphroditus bathing; consumed with passion, she entered the water and, begging the gods to allow them to stay together, the two became one – part man, part woman.
An Eclectic Pagan, for Elizabeth Ovid’s fables are more than fiction, and form a framework for exploring identity. Drawing on the rich mythological history associated with the tale of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus, and re-examining the tale through the lens of metaphor, Salmacis: Becoming Not Quite a Woman is a stirringly relatable and powerful exploration of gender, love and identity.
this is my lake salmacis, and i am the wild nymph
with a hollow in her belly and nothing between her legs
Elizabeth Train-Brown
Elizabeth Train-Brown is a twice-shortlisted Poet of the Year whose debut collection, salmacis: becoming not quite a woman, was published by Renard Press in 2022. Using Greek myth as metaphor for gender exploration, Elizabeth’s collection was hailed by critics as a ‘a beautifully lyrical debut collection with real power in its pages’ (Debut Digest).
Author portrait © Bryan Hurt