See You in the Dark: Poems

Notes

91 notes “Saint Alexius’s Mother”: I found the story of Saint Alexius in a display at the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome. The poem follows the Greek legend, in which Saint Alexius lived in the first half of the fifth century. “So You Want to Be a Druid”: The Druid initiation rites are described in Robert Graves’s book Claudius the God. “TraumaMan”: In 2005, National Public Radio ran a brief story about a torso doll called TraumaMan, used to train prospective surgeons in medical schools. At the time, the doll cost several thousand dollars and could be used repeatedly for six kinds of operations. “Two from Catullus”: Latin from The Poems of Catullus, trans. James Michie (London: Panther Books, 1972). “Shrinking Verlaine”: French from One Hundred and One Poems by Paul Verlaine (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999). “Not Quite Missed Connections, Craigslist.org”: The online site Craigslist.org runs a page called “Missed Connections,” on which people post messages seeking out appealing strangers glimpsed in public places. “Wind Dummy”: Again on National Public Radio, I heard former secretary of state Colin Powell describe the technique of throwing a dummy out of an airplane to test the prevailing winds, in preparation for bombings. “Winter Soldier”: In 1971 in Detroit, Vietnam Veterans Against the War sponsored a public inquiry into war crimes committed by American troops in Vietnam. The event was filmed and attended by press and TV correspondents but never received wide coverage. The film, which was shown in New York City in 2006, is rarely seen. ...