Perigee
Will be published approx. on 30. October 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
277 pages
978-0-299-33024-8 (ISBN)
Description
In these visceral poems, Diane Kerr reckons with dark trauma. Retracing memories from girlhood that she once felt compelled to keep secret, perspectives shift as the lens of adulthood brings the past into sharp clarity.
Moments are revealed in layers; we join the poet as she rides through fields on horseback, watches a woman testify on television, and comes to terms with her experiences of sexual abuse. Vivid recollections of emotionally charged minutiae-broken-in cowboy boots, the second button on a blouse, a housecoat patterned with pink begonias-remind us how even the smallest details can be fraught with both nostalgia and pain. Each poem wields power, with resonating narratives of fear and survival reminding us that suffering has no statute of limitations.
Moments are revealed in layers; we join the poet as she rides through fields on horseback, watches a woman testify on television, and comes to terms with her experiences of sexual abuse. Vivid recollections of emotionally charged minutiae-broken-in cowboy boots, the second button on a blouse, a housecoat patterned with pink begonias-remind us how even the smallest details can be fraught with both nostalgia and pain. Each poem wields power, with resonating narratives of fear and survival reminding us that suffering has no statute of limitations.
Reviews / Votes
World building of the highest, most authentic order. The precise language of these poems lands us hard in the saddle of this singular midcentury, midwestern horse girl's world-Kerr makes us see it, unflinchingly, as if it were our very own." - Celeste Gainey, author of The Gaffer"A breathtaking sequence of poems about the lifelong trauma of abuse. This brave writer never veers off path, never wavers. Kerr reminds us of the fierce power of story, how it can shake us to the core, raise us up, and save us." - Jan Beatty, author of Jackknife
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Wisconsin
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 8 mm
Weight
181 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-299-33024-8 (9780299330248)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Diane Kerr is the author of Butterfly and a mentor for poets through the Madwomen in the Attic Creative Writing Program at Carlow University. Her work has appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Mississippi Review, Pearl, and Poetry East, among others.