Conjure (Wesleyan Poetry Series)

"How did the synthesis / cross the abyss?" A question each of us has been asking ever since we emerged from the tunnel of our mother, and one that poses itself more loudly as we near the next such channel. Rae Armantrout has always taken pleasure in uncertainties and conundrums, the tricky nuances of language and feeling. In Conjure that pleasure is matched by dread; fascination meets fear as the poet considers the emergence of new life (twin granddaughters) into an increasingly toxic world: the Amazon smolders, children are caged or die crossing rivers and oceans, and weddings make convenient targets for drone strikes. One third of all adults seem bent on killing another third, while the remainder passively watches, hoping that nobody gets too extreme. These poems explore the restless border between self and non-self. One and another tussle and blur. As Armantrout writes in Conjure , "In a sentimental story // there is only one / of something // one newborn, one moment" or one place for our attention to land, while in fact there are countless species dwindling to extinction. These poems ask us to look with new eyes at what we've done and continue to do. A Pulitzer prize-winning poet “offers a glimpse into her visionary world in her stunning 16th collection. . . . [D]eeply insightful.” ( Publishers Weekly , starred review) Like magic, these succinct poems reveal multiple realities Rae Armantrout has always taken pleasure in uncertainties and conundrums, the tricky nuances of language and feeling. In Conjure that pleasure is matched by dread; fascination meets fear as the poet considers the emergence of new life (twin granddaughters) into an increasingly toxic world: the Amazon smolders, children are caged or die crossing rivers and oceans, and weddings make convenient targets for drone strikes. These poems explore the restless border between self and non-self and ask us to look with new eyes at what we're doing. “In this volume, Armantrout addresses topics familiar from her earlier work: the nature of consciousness, aging, the looming ecological crisis, the vacuousness of much of what passes for public discourse.” ―Simon Collings, Stride Magazine “ Conjure offers a magic of its own, with sometimes sly and always unforgettable juxtapositions of the minute and the exceptional, elevated by the intellect, flair, and confidence of a poet at the top of her game.” ―Mandana Chaffa, Ploughshares “Unsettling, slippery intimations move just below the surface of Rae Armantrout’s enigmatic and unforgettable new collection of poems. For the record, Rae Armantrout is my favourite living poet.” ―Nick Cave CARE Dress like you care!Care like you care! fascination meets fear as the poet considers the emergence of new life (twin granddaughters) into an increasingly toxic world: the Amazon smolders, children are caged or die crossing rivers and oceans, and weddings make convenient targets for drone strikes. "A new book of poems by the National Book Critics Circle Award and Pulitzer Prize-winner, exploring thought, dialogue, and everyday interactions"-- Provided by publisher