Review of Debra Spencer's poetry
by J. Zimmerman
| Four poems from Pomegranate
have been featured on Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac
on National Public Radio.
Buy Pomegranate (2004) however is easiest for you:
- Ask your local book store to order this book of glorious poems.
- Check out current instructions at the
Hummingbird Press web site.
-
Buy Pomegranate at Amazon
See Hummingbird Press poets:
|
Debra Spencer's Pomegranate
The things about Spencer's poems that I admire the most are that:
- the entire journey of each poem is fascinating
- time and again the poet leaves you with a heart-stopping insight at the end of the poem.
Four sections:
- Everybody Wants to Be Blond has 11 poems on childhood and the teen years,
starting with
"First Decade" and continuing through
"Second Decade". My favorite poem of this section is
"Being a Twin"; it tells of a child whose twin has died and it ends:
Gradually
we stopped talking
and she dimmed
to a shadow in the mirror
late at night, and now I seem
to have gotten over her death,
which must have happened so long ago
that the sound of my heart
is all that's left of her.
|
- Jackpot in My Pocket has 14 poems on young adulthood. The two most striking are
the small and perfect "Moment of Inertia" (on learning of the death of her father)
and
"Petit Mal", an amazing poem on the experiences of small seizures;
it ends:
The computer flickers. If it all goes away
I just wait for the next frame. If they want an answer
they'll ask again, or they'll stop asking. The world
will return. Light shines steadily
through the open window.
|
- Rhythm of the Blood has 19 poems on motherhood and womanhood, including
one of the best poems ever on menstruation,
"Menstruation for Men"
and the generous
"Feast of All Saints", praising neighbors, friends, and the great human family.
- Songs in Every Tongue has 16 poems on travels in space, in time, and in imagination.
At the end, the only sorrows are that
this book did not include one of my favorite of her poems:
"I Write From Tibet".
And that she has not yet published her follow-up book —
which hopefully will include
"I Write From Tibet".
This is a very fine book and we urge our readers to
obtain their own copy.
How to Ordering your copy
You can buy
Pomegranate (ISBN 0-9716373-5-0, 104 pages, $12.00, Hummingbird Press) as follows:
- Ask your local book store to order this book of glorious poems.
Available in stores October 20, 2003.
- Order directly by
e-mail to Hummingbird Press.
[Thanks for visiting.]
Highlights of Poetry.