In this collection of persona poems, Teri Youmans Grimm weaves the public history of silent film with the personal history of a fictional silent film star. Becoming Lyla Dore recounts the provocative fall and rise of a young woman whose coming of age coincides with that of moving pictures. Lyla’s need to be desired becomes her downfall as well as the catalyst that drives her to success as a silent film actress. Through stunning imagery a character’s vulnerabilities and strengths, her heartbreaks and triumphs are explored through the lens of history reimagined. These poems are luminous as nitrate film and just as incendiary.