Customer Reviews

Infidelities (Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize Library)

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I have to humbly disagree with the hyperbolic enthusiasm of the review below; though there are some things to commend in Paschen's book, the concepts are far better than their execution. I love the idea of having a multivocal array of experiences, settings and forms to convey different narratives about love and desire. However, Paschen didn't (at least when the book was published in 1996) have the skill to pull this off. The voices of wildly different women not only all sound the same, but they all speak in slack, unmusical language, and tell stories bogged down unnecessary detail. The poems lack surprise and variation, despite Paschen's attempt to patchwork a variety of characters together. This is a very forgettable reading experience.

Ms. Paschen is the best American poetess to rise above to the heavens of Parnasian poets. Her poems shine as beacons of purity. Her poetics are superior to any of her generation. The "Stealing" series of poems along with her "Father" poems are artful as Marianne Moore's. Let us celebrate a true genious!