Anamnesis [Paperback]

Lucy Ives (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2009

The word 'anamnesis' relates to how a person arrives at knowledge. In the Platonic sense, it suggests the recollection of ideas which the soul knew in a previous life. In a clinical sense, it is the full medical history as told by a patient; in the Christian sense, it is a Eucharistic prayer; and in immunology, it is a strong immune response. All of these meanings relate to the central concept of this fine collection, how a writer 'finds' and/or 'makes' meaning and deals with the temporary nature of the act, how even our most vital life stories are provisional at best, and how erasure becomes part of the process itself. We are asked to reflect on what previous life brought these sentences to the page, what history of illness or wellness caused the words to form this way, what invisible prayer was erased even before meaning was posited --Maxine Chernoff, from the Introduction.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lucy Ives is the author of the book ANAMNESIS (Slope Editions, 2009) and the chapbook My Thousand Novel (Cosa Nostra Editions, 2009). Her work has appeared in The Colorado Review, FENCE, Ploughshares, Verse, and other journals. A graduate of Harvard University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, she is completing a PhD in Comparative Literature at New York University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 106 pages
• Publisher: Slope Editions (December 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977769844
• ISBN-13: 978-0977769841
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,915,326 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Entering into the world of a writer--experiencing the creative process, April 9, 2010

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This review is from: Anamnesis (Paperback)

What an exceptional delight to read this poetic entrance to the world of creativity. Certainly poetry, but also the source of insights as to how a creative poet constructs, deconstructs, destroys, rebuilds ideas as well as poetic verse. Ives has charted a course that in some way borrows from the work of John Fowles and others who offer multiple possibiliies on plot lines, except her multiple possibilities are of a different kind. They track how a poetic image or idea can segue into something, get modified, get rethough, get abandoned, and even reemerge. Its a fun experience to be inside the head of Ms. Ives and of the creative poet