Meniscus
Published on 29. October 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
96 pages
978-1-897231-60-9 (ISBN)
Description
In the middle of his life, Robert Lowell wrote "Memories of West Street and Lepke," a poem that reflected on Lowell's recurrent manias and included the lines "My manic statement." This is Shane Neilson's manic statement, arching backwards through his personal histories (rural, difficult) and then into the current scale of illness: how it prophecizes and destroys. But this is not a book solely given over to a state; Neilson gives most of the book over to love, how it moves him, the disaster of chasing it, and how it settles all the accounts in his life.
Reviews / Votes
"Neilson's ability to make the bipolar mind comprehensible, a place that needs to be understood, in 'Manic Statement' is perhaps the book's greatest success. It never lapses into cliche and even manages to slip in a bit of wit..."—Canadian Literature "Neilson's use of language is stark, but this off-kilter beauty is arresting...Although the territory Neilson covers in his debut tradebook is undoubtedly dark, there are still many worthwhile moments to be forged in its depths."—Northern Poetry Review "Shane Neilson's Meniscus is an example of that rare and defining moment in a poet's career when subject and language meld into authentic poetic voice."—Winnipeg Free PressMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Emeryville
Canada
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
136 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-897231-60-9 (9781897231609)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Shane Neilson: Shane Neilson is a physician whose first chapbook of poems, The Beaten-Down Elegies, was published in 2004 by Frog Hollow Press. In 2005 he edited Alden Nowlan and Illness, also with Frog Hollow. Subsequently, he has written a memoir, Call Me Doctor (Pottersfield Press, 2006), and Exterminate My Heart (Frog Hollow Press, 2008). His work has appeared in the Anthologies The New Canon (Vehicule Press, 2005) and In Fine Form (Polestar, 2005). Meniscus is his first trade book of poetry.