[It] Incandescent

Ninebark Press, 2018

Available from Amazon

Pence performs not an imitation of Dickinson, but an inhabitation of her. ~Katharine Coldiron, The Bind

Pence creates a poetics of trauma and redemption, an aesthetic predicated on building narrative, and discovering meaning, ‘by degrees.’ In doing so, Pence shows us that as T.S. Eliot later argues, quite famously, the past is contained within the present. Here, history and modernity are conflated in even the texture of the language itself. By pairing words like “opon” with more colloquial speech, Pence shows us that history, its trauma, its silences, and its elisions are embedded within the minutia of syntax and grammar.
~~Kristina Marie Darling - Green Mountains Review

Armor, Amour

Ninebark Press, 2012

Available from the author

Amy Pence’s second collection, Armor, Amour, is made up of energetic, formally varied poems that explore a wide range of subjects—sexual desire, contemporary urban landscape, art and mythology, the natural world
~~Melissa Ginsburg, Colorado Review

The Decadent Lovely

Available from Mainstreet Rag 2010

"Through the acquisition of archetypal guardians, conversations with gods and saints, Amy Pence carries reminders of life on earth to a higher plateau. In Pence’s The Decadent Lovely, she explores the need for spiritual resolution, safety, detailing her reflections through childhood memory without the sentimentality often imbued through hindsight. Eyeing the late 50’s department store photo of her parents she sees “who they were or were meant to believe they could be…"
Maureen Alsop, Poemeleon

"Amy Pence’s Skin’s Dark Night is a haunting and evocative collection that weaves memory, loss, and trauma into a rich tapestry of lyrical intensity. Through striking imagery and a dreamlike atmosphere, Pence explores the fragility of existence, intertwining nature with human suffering. Flowers, celestial events, and historical wounds become metaphors for resilience and decay, while her cinematic writing style brings raw, immersive moments to life. From deeply personal reflections to historical reckonings, each poem lingers with a visceral impact, making Skin’s Dark Night a powerful meditation on the body, time, and the ghosts that shape us."

Skin’s Dark Night

Available Online From 2River Chapbook Series