Inflorescence [Perfect Paperback]

Sarah Hannah (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2007

Sarah Hannah follows her critically acclaimed first volume of poetry, Longing Distance, with Inflorescence, a compelling memoir-in-verse for her mother, Boston Expressionist painter Renee Rothbein, and their intense relationship in which they struggle with Rothbeins mental illness and eventual death from cancer. Hannahs characteristic love of traditional poetic forms, wit, and fascination with the natural world continue to manifest in this sometimes shocking story that cannot fail to move scores of readers, including anyone who has cared for the sick, dealt with mental illness, or lost someone close to them. However, Inflorescence is far more than a narrative of sickness and loss. Through rich language and use of metaphor, most often that of wildflowers, their common names and lore, Inflorescence often treats its subject matter obliquely, making the personal and particular universal. In all, Hannahs second volume of poetry examines unflinchingly the deep and difficult love between a mother and daughter, stares death in the face, and transforms a unique story into a series of luminous, transcendent truths.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sarah Hannah received a B.A. from Wesleyan University, an M.F.A. and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Her poems have appeared in The Southern Review, Parnassus, Agni, Rattapallax, Western Humanities Review, New Millennium Writing, The National Poetry Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Harvard Review, and many other journals. She was also an editor at Barrow Street Press, and Poet Laureate of The Friends of Hemlock Gorge, an organization of nature conservators in Newton, MA. She was awarded a Governor's Fellowship for residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts for summer 2001, 2002 and 2006. The original manuscript which became Longing Distance was a semi-finalist for the Yale Younger Poets Prize in 2002. Poems from Inflorescence have been nominated for four Pushcart Prizes. She grew up in Newton, and until her death in May 2007, taught poetry writing and literature at Emerson College.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 77 pages
• Publisher: Tupelo Press (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932195610
• ISBN-13: 978-1932195613
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.4 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: #162,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The keenly whetted, deftly crafted artistry of Hannah's words prove beyond doubt that the contemporary world lost a great poet, April 2, 2008

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inflorescence (Perfect Paperback)

The second poetry collection by the sadly late Sarah Hannah (1967-2007), Inflorescence is a collection of poems using both free verse and various rhyme schemes, blending insight, compassion, and sharp-edged wit. At times a memoir in poetry form, Inflorescence tells of Hannah's travails in taking care of her dying, mentally ill mother, the artist Renee Rothbein. The keenly whetted, deftly crafted artistry of Hannah's words prove beyond doubt that the contemporary world lost a great poet all too soon. "Northampton, Massachusetts": I wander tree to tree, an idle guest. / The names are stamped on metal plates / And nailed to the trunks: Sugar Maple, / Elm, Cedar-of-the-Lebanon. / It is autumn, Friday afternoon; / The walks are empty. / The elm is pure gold serrate, / The cedar a series of thickets. / I stand by the burning maple. / In the stillness, a ghost: / My mother running toward me / Across the lawn of broken leaves. / She is brining me the reddest.