Song (American Poets Continuum) [Paperback]

Brigit Pegeen Kelly (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Kelly has won some of the most prestigious awards available to poets, among them the Yale Series of Younger Poets award in 1988 for To the Place of Trumpets (LJ 5/15/88) and now the Lamont Award of the Academy of American Poets for her current volume. The title poem is an absolute gripper: a haunting story of the sacrificial mutilation of a child's pet goat that finally attains an arresting, spellbinding, ghostly immortality. This opening poem is a hard act to follow, but Kelly keeps the interest high. Descriptions are vivid and indelible as Kelly skillfully captures the elusive nature of sights, sounds, odors, and taste ("The window opens. The smell and even taste of wetted dirt and wild fruit steps/Up"). A strong thread of spirituality is woven into almost all the poems, which move from reflections on a flock of wild turkeys to Botticelli's St. Sebastian. Kelly is far from a minimalist-her poems are long-lined and full of rich, compelling words-but she is never wordy-and she truly deserves the recognition she has received. For all poetry collections.
Judy Clarence, California State Univ. Lib., Hayward
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Imagine a tapestry in which every color, itself resplendent, is couched next to another, equally brilliant hue. Such is Kelly's work--so gorgeous in its language, so vivid in its sonorousness. In Song--winner of the 1994 Lamont Poetry Award for the best second book by an American poet--Kelly is both lavish and demanding. Her images unfold intuitively, hypnotically. Her rhythms and repetitions drive the poems beyond mere logic into passion. It's tempting to cite great swatches, for although a single line is beautiful, the one after it reflects additional brilliance, and the next expands into luminosity. Kelly's poetry is symphonic, and each poem is best appreciated as a total composition rather than as a series of melodic lines. A glorious, wild work. Patricia Monaghan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 90 pages
• Publisher: BOA Editions Ltd. (January 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880238136
• ISBN-13: 978-1880238134
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #524,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful and painful, June 15, 2000

By 

Perry (Champaign, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Song (American Poets Continuum) (Paperback)

Brigit Kelly's title poem is, truly, the best poem I have ever read. It is so filled with suffering and sweetness, interwoven, I could hardly stand it; it blew my mind. The entire book is wonderful. Kelly's poems radiate intelligence and bare-bones honesty. She dives into the pain and truth and loveliness of life and takes you along with her, but even with all the intensity in her writing, she leaves you feeling somehow safe in the world. If you can find her first book somewhere (it's out of print) find it, too. It also cuts to the quick. Please, Brigit, give us another book!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Four corners of the Night, April 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Song (American Poets Continuum) (Paperback)

Compare this to what? Chagall dreaming at dusk near a pasture? . . . Kelly's poems paint their way into your mind through your eyes, in short, brush-saturated strokes of paint. Her short lines, full of amazing enjambments, lull you out of adulthood. But it's not all pleasant. There's a lot to be afraid of. But there's so much beauty (in all that mystery) after you catch your breath. Kelly's poem-paintings are dripping with nightmares and dreamlight.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Changing, Inescapable, True, October 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Song (American Poets Continuum) (Paperback)

Senuous; This book is composed of the stretchings of this woman's life. I had the opportunity to hear her read and I will never feel the same way about age or sex or truth again.