The poems in Descent illuminate the lives of women (mythological, Biblical, historical, and modern) through traditional poetic forms, persona poems, and ekphrastic work. Whether reimagining the myth of Persephone and Demeter in the context of a modern mother-daughter relationship or giving voice to anonymous women portrayed in Impressionist paintings, these poems revise patriarchal stories from a decidedly feminist point of view. Woven throughout the collection are more personal poems connecting the poet's experience to that of the characters.