"Mary Tautin Moloney's debut collection opens with her title poem, with a new bride changing into an old bathing suit to take an impromptu swim with her husband, literally taking the plunge into a "sudden depth of water without a lot of questions," and taking us with her. This scene sets up what is to come, a heady mix of nature and domesticity, lyricism and passion, acceptance and insistence, all rendered in language and imagery that is strikingly original, a confident display of mastery of form and line announcing the ...
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"Mary Tautin Moloney's debut collection opens with her title poem, with a new bride changing into an old bathing suit to take an impromptu swim with her husband, literally taking the plunge into a "sudden depth of water without a lot of questions," and taking us with her. This scene sets up what is to come, a heady mix of nature and domesticity, lyricism and passion, acceptance and insistence, all rendered in language and imagery that is strikingly original, a confident display of mastery of form and line announcing the arrival of a serious poetic voice. Who else, for instance, might compare a looming hurricane to the press of blankets descending on her childhood bed? Domestic images occur often, such as the observation that "It helps to have laundry waiting" as a way of maintain perspective, "reaching / inside to separate big from small." Not that she has any illusions of marital bliss - "It isn't kindness that has kept us together" - and her portrayal of motherhood is unflinching, recognizing that the needs of her newborn take precedence over "my pillbox of loss" (another wonderful image). In another candid admission, she records how she was "Delivered to forty / it's verity, lust intact," and that intensity and craving inform her poetry. "I've never / been good at sarcasm," she says, "Never / known the thing that makes me real." Perhaps not - but there is very real and fully realized life in these pages"--
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Add this copy of At the Base of Kaaterskill Falls to cart. $43.02, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Broadstone Books.
Add this copy of At the Base of Kaaterskill Falls to cart. $74.39, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Broadstone Books.