Salient (Poetry)

Salient (Poetry)
Elizabeth T Gray
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NZ$ 30.99
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NZ$ 26.34
Paperback
h216 x 140mm - 112pg
26 May 2020 US
International import eta 10-30 days
9780811229241
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In the foreword to her book-length poem, Salient, Elizabeth Gray writes, "This work began by juxtaposing two obsessions of mine that took root in the late 1960s: the Battle of Passchendaele, fought by the British Army in Flanders in late 1917, and the choed ritual, the core 'severance' practice of a lineage founded by Machik Lapdroen, the great twelfth-century female Tibetan Buddhist saint." Over the course of several decades, Gray tracked the contours and traces of the Ypres Salient, walking the haunted battlefield ground of the contemporary landscape with campaign maps in hand, reading "not only history, poetry, and fiction, but also unit diaries; contemporary reports and individual accounts; survey information and maps of all kinds; treatises on aerial photography and artillery tactics; and manuals on field engineering and tactical planning." Out of this material, through a process of collage, convergence, and ritual choed visualization, Gray has composed a spare, fascinating lyrical engagement with The Missing, in shell hole and curved trench, by way of amulets and obstacles. What is salient rises from the secret signs in song, like a blessing, protected from harm.
"Taking as its title a term that describes both critical insight and a devastating battle of World War I, Salient is a work of lyric investigation and recovery. Elizabeth Gray mines field manuals, trench maps, soldiers' diaries, and officers' reports-seeking a language that can confront the horrors of modern warfare. Addressing a guiding query-"how could one imagine this?"-Gray marries painfully precise historical accounts of the Western Front with the language and practice of Eastern protective magic. In so doing, the poet finds the "portions of this evidence which are obviously song. " -- Nancy Kuhl
"A remarkable work of poetry. Everything invoked is both crystal-clear while yet retaining its crystal mystery. There is a magical accession to the delineation of links and relationships developing in the poem, even the physical connections (real or imaginary) when moving from soldier to soldier, woman to soldier; poet to soldier, woman/poet to lover." -- Nathaniel Tarn, from the afterword
"Her journey has allowed for the imagery and wisdom of ancient texts and stories to come alive.
" -- Dana Johnson - The Rumpus
"Extraordinary: Gray concludes this striking work by praying that the goddesses will do what humans never could: just stay." -- Heather McHugh
Elizabeth T. Gray, Jr., born in Boston, Massachusetts, is the author of the poetry collection Series | India. Her celebrated translations from classical and contemporary Persian include Wine and Prayer: Eighty Ghazals from the Diwan of Hafiz, The Green Sea of Heaven: Fifty Ghazals from the Diwan of Hafiz, and Iran: Poems of Dissent.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9780811229241
Published: 26 May 2020
Published In: United States
Imprint: New Directions Publishing Corporation
Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
Format: Paperback
Height: 216mm
Width: 140mm
Spine: 10mm
Weight: 157g
Pages: 112

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