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Suffused with lyrical grace and the language of loss, Sean Nevin's Oblivio Gate explores the mental and emotional struggles of Solomon, a veteran battling the onslaught of Alzheimer's disease. Set against Solomon's memories of the Korean War, Nevin's poems draw us into an intimate view of a man's confusion as everything he knows slowly unravels around him, leaving him abandoned in the suddenly unfamiliar landscape of his own mind. Readers experience first- hand Solomon's dismay as he watches himself inexorably slip away from reality, fighting to hold on to the shreds of his identity. Intertwined with his perspective are the voices of loved ones and caregivers who can only watch helplessly as Solomon is ravaged by the illness. Also central to the collection are the figures of Aurora and Tithonus, the famously doomed couple of mythology whose own happiness was destroyed by the inevitability of age and the betrayal of the body. But if this evocative portrait of Alzheimer's disease is tragic, it is also at moments inspiring.

Oblivio Gate reveals not only what is lost, but also what is found, what is pure, and even what is funny in our fleeting lives. Ultimately, Sean Nevin crafts an unforgettable collection of contemporary poetry that yields heartbreaking insight into memory, the mind, and an affliction that has left millions lost and looking for themselves.

Table of Contents

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  1. Cover
  2. pp. 1-3
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  1. Title Page
  2. p. 4
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  1. Copyright
  2. pp. 5-9
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  1. Contents
  2. pp. 10-11
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  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. xi-xiii
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  1. One. Losing Solomon
  1. Losing Solomon
  2. p. 3
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  1. Hippocampus
  2. p. 4
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  1. Thirty-Nine Years on the Job
  2. p. 6
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  1. Solomon's Tool Shed
  2. pp. 7-8
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  1. Montclair Vespers
  2. p. 9
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  1. Walking Bees
  2. pp. 10-11
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  1. Wildfire Triptych
  2. pp. 12-15
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  1. Fainting at My Grandfather's Funeral
  2. pp. 16-18
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  1. Two. Oblivio Gate
  1. Oblivio Gate
  2. pp. 21-30
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  1. Three. Solomon’s Palimpsest
  1. Solomon's Palimpsest
  2. pp. 33-41
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  1. Four. Wisdom
  1. Wisdom
  2. pp. 45-47
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  1. The Gnome and I Catch Dawn
  2. p. 48
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  1. The Carpenter Bee
  2. p. 49
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  1. Self-Portrait as Tithonus
  2. p. 50
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  1. Self-Portrait as Aurora
  2. p. 51
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  1. The Incident
  2. p. 52
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  1. Sundowning
  2. pp. 53-54
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  1. Again, the Gnome and I Catch Dawn
  2. p. 55
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  1. Alzheimer's
  2. p. 56
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  1. Heart of the Tyrant King
  2. p. 57
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  1. The Other Dream in Which He Is Weightless
  2. p. 58
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  1. Hinged Double Sonnet for the Luna Moths
  2. p. 59
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  1. Working and Singing
  2. pp. 60-61
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  1. Elegy
  2. p. 62
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  1. September, North Fullerton Avenue
  2. p. 63
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  1. Five. Self-Portraits from the Widow House
  1. Self-Portraits from the Widow House
  2. pp. 67-75
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  1. Notes
  2. p. 76
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  1. Other Books in the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry
  2. pp. 77-78
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  1. Back Cover
  2. p. 94
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