The Geographic Cure

"Another time, another day, another continent perhaps and life would be better, lovers happier, the dead un-dead" is the sought-after "geographic cure" in the title of Vermont poet Ellen Dudley's powerful second book. Traveling through North America, into South America, and to the islands of the Philippines, these visceral poems present landscapes and habitats with verve and perception. Equally vivid are the people and animals who occupy these worlds, and the relationships they travel into. Dudley writes of sex and power, lust and violence, with a stunning capacity for lyric poignancy together with stark detail.