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Milkweed Smithereens

By Bernadette Mayer
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Milkweed Smithereens is a vibrant collection of Bernadette Mayer's poetry, encompassing new nature poems, pastiches, sequences, epigrams, and excerpts from her Covid Diary and Second World of Nature. It also includes early works and sonnets found in archives, weaving themes of nature and the pandemic with vivid imagery and intimate reflections.

One striking poem, The Lobelias of Fear, evokes the tension of living through a global crisis with lines like:

…but how will we, still alive, socialize
in the winter? wrapped in bear skins
we'll sit around pot-bellied stoves eating
the lobelias of fear left over from desperation,
last summer's woodland sunflowers and bee balm remind us of black
cherries eaten in a hurry
while the yard grows in the moonlight
shrinking like a salary …
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3199
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This collection will appeal to readers interested in contemporary poetry that combines intimacy, invention, and reflections on nature and pandemic life. Fans of thoughtful, experimental verse and those who appreciate poetic wit and emotional depth will find it rewarding.

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A career-spanning bouquet of poems by the peerless and inimitable Bernadette Mayer

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Milkweed Smithereens gathers lively, wickedly smart, intimate, and indelible Bernadette Mayer poems. The volume ranges from brand-new nature poems, pastiches, sequences, epigrams, and excerpts from her Covid Diary and Second World of Nature to early poems and sonnets found in the attic or rooted out in the UC San Diego archive.

The world of nature and the pandemic loom large, as in her poem "The Lobelias of Fear":

…but how will we, still alive, socialize

in the winter? wrapped in bear skins

we'll sit around pot-bellied stoves eating

the lobelias of fear left over from desperation,

last summer's woodland sunflowers and bee balm remind us of black

cherries eaten in a hurry

while the yard grows in the moonlight

shrinking like a salary …

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Critics praise Mayer's work for its inventive, challenging, and generous poetic voice. The New Yorker highlights her ability to blend nonsense and sense, calling it fitting for uncertain times. Michael Palmer lauds her erotic energy and intelligence, while Robert Creeley celebrates her genius and generosity. The Washington Post notes her brilliant observation and surprising linguistic playfulness. Vulture describes the collection as bracing, carnal, and a dynamic exploration of contemporary consciousness.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780811229227

Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 November 2022

Country: United States

Imprint: New Directions Publishing Corporation

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 8.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 145g

Pages: 96

Collections

Arts & Culture Bernadette Mayer Non-Fiction Poetry

About the Author

Called “a consummate poet” by Robert Creeley, Bernadette Mayer was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1945. A most prolific poet, her first book was published at the age of twenty-three. Many texts later she continues to write progressive poetry from her home in East Nassau, New York. For many years Mayer lived and worked on the Lower East Side of Manhattan where she was the Director of St. Mark’s Poetry Project from 1980-1984. Bernadette Mayer has received grants and awards from PEN American Center, The Foundation for Contemporary Performance Art, the NEA, The Academy of American Poets, and The American Academy of Arts and Letters.

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