In this Book
- Unthinkable: Selected Poems 1976-2004
- Book
- 2009
- Published by: Red Hen Press
summary
Irene McKinney's work of three decades is represented here. Her language is direct, vernacular, forceful, and unmistakable. These poems are directed to a listener, not overheard, in a tone and with a stance of honest intimacy. These poems occur in the rhythm of speech, not of written discourse. From the beginning, McKinney has been aware of the modulations of the spoken voice, and much of the power of these poems derives from that awareness. Her themes are the ancient ones: connections with the land, with animals, with other people, with loss, with joy. Her work should be seen in the context of such poets as Denise Levertov, Wislawa Symborska, or Ruth Stone, who worked in a tradition of independent spirit powered by clarity, compassion, and a willingness to take unpopular stances. These poems are rooted in a consciousness that draws on a wide range of poetic and spiritual traditions, but there is a remarkable consistence of concerns over these three decades.
Table of Contents
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- Night Mare
- p. 17
- The Animals
- p. 18
- Summer Storm In The Animal Graveyard
- pp. 20-21
- Animal Oils
- pp. 24-25
- Waking Up Sweating
- p. 26
- Sleeping Beauty
- pp. 27-28
- After Talk, 3 A.M.
- p. 29
- After Lear
- p. 30
- That Other Death
- p. 37
- The Invention of Mercy
- pp. 44-45
- An Invitation to My Body
- pp. 46-47
- Self-Portrait at 19
- pp. 48-49
- Five Asanas
- pp. 52-56
- Mount Storm Aspiring
- p. 62
- Anger’s Visit
- p. 63
- Devotional
- pp. 64-65
- How This Happened
- pp. 66-67
- The Anguish Lessons
- p. 68
- Potts Farm, Summer 1955
- pp. 80-81
- The Ruined House of the Photographer
- pp. 82-83
- Starlings in the Walls at Night
- pp. 84-85
- Before Spring
- pp. 86-87
- Little Boats
- pp. 90-91
- Deep Mining
- pp. 92-93
- Sunday Morning, 1950
- pp. 94-95
- Her Fascicles
- pp. 96-97
- She Says Zero
- p. 104
- To His Wife
- p. 105
- Chrysanthemums
- pp. 114-115
- Mary Shelley: The Miscarriage
- pp. 116-117
- Section 4. Vivid Companion
- pp. 119-120
- Our Lady Of The Iguanas
- pp. 121-123
- Grey’s Anatomy
- p. 124
- The Surgery
- p. 125
- Ravi Sings
- pp. 130-131
- Constant Companion
- p. 134
- Mary Cragin: The Honeymoon, 1834
- pp. 136-137
- The Testimony of Harriet Worden, 1850
- pp. 139-140
- Sarah Burt: The Doll Burning, 1851
- pp. 141-142
- Filthy Weather
- pp. 152-153
- Three Three Three
- pp. 154-155
- Covering Up
- pp. 158-159
- Monkey Heart
- pp. 162-163
- Woods Burning
- pp. 166-168
- Homage to Roy Orbison
- pp. 169-170
- Illuminated Manuscript
- pp. 179-182
- Viridian Days
- pp. 185-186
Additional Information
ISBN
9781597093743
Related ISBN(s)
9781597090698
MARC Record
OCLC
835771307
Pages
192
Launched on MUSE
2013-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No