In this Book
- Rookery
- Book
- 2010
- Published by: Southern Illinois University Press
- Series: Crab Orchard Series in Poetry
Traveling to the most intimate extremes of the human heart
Fraught with madness, brutality, and ecstasy, Traci Brimhall’s Rookery delves into the darkest and most remote corners of the human experience. From the graveyards and battlefields of the Civil War to the ancient forests of Brazil, from desire to despair, landscapes both literal and emotional are traversed in this unforgettable collection of poems. Brimhall guides readers through ever-winding mazes of heartbreak and treachery, and the euphoric dreams of missionaries. The end of days, the intoxication of religion that at times borders on terror, and the post-evangelical experience intertwine with the haunting redemptions and metamorphoses found in violence. These tender yet ruthless poems, brimming with danger and longing, lure readers to “a place where everyone is transformed by suffering.”
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-xii
- 1. (n) Colony of rooks
- Aubade in Which I Untangle Her Hair
- pp. 11-12
- Oneiromancy
- p. 13
- Concerning Cuttlefish and Ugolino
- pp. 16-17
- Appalachian Aubade
- pp. 18-19
- Restoration of the Saints
- pp. 20-21
- Noli Me Tangere
- pp. 22-23
- 2. (n) A breeding place
- The Bullet Collector
- pp. 38-39
- Chastity Belt Lesson
- pp. 40-42
- Missionary Child
- pp. 44-45
- Possession
- p. 46
- Glossolalia
- p. 47
- Why He Leaves
- p. 48
- Leviathan: A Rapture
- pp. 50-51
- Prayer for Sunlight and Hunger
- pp. 53-54
- 3. (n) A crowded tenement house
- Ars Poetica
- p. 57
- Via Dolorosa
- p. 59
- Battle Hymn
- pp. 62-63
- Falling (A twin-engined B-25 . . .)
- pp. 64-65
- Dressing Heads
- pp. 68-69
- The Light in the Basement
- pp. 72-73
- Come Back to Me
- p. 74
- American Pastoral
- p. 75
- Kingdom Come
- p. 76
- Prayer to Delay the Apocalypse
- pp. 78-79
Additional Information
Copyright
2010