The Lives of the Saints (The Pacific Northwest Poetry Series) [Hardcover]

Suzanne Paola (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Pacific Northwest Poetry Series | Publication Date: November 2002

'The lives of the saints take place all around us, under us, so much of the earth they seethe in it'. In this new book of poems, Suzanne Paola brings her unique voice to the meditative tradition, with words that offer a fresh and breathtaking foothold for the ages-old leap of faith. The book is, in Paola's words, 'a polyphony, a chorus spoken about saints and perhaps, occasionally, by them'. The image of the rose winds through the book, symbol of eternity and transience, gravity and folly. We find it in the ghastly bloom of the atomic bomb, in the relic of St. Therese of Lisieux, in the wool of a cloned sheep. Its image glows silently under the Waste Isolation Projects of Yucca Mountain and New Mexico, in the U.S. Human Radiation Experiments, in the altars constructed at the schoolyard gate of the Columbine massacre.The poems - witty, sly, sensitive, and immensely informed - trace the spiritual inquiries of a series of linked personae adrift in bodies and a world made toxic by the residues of scientific experimentation. Paola's dramatic monologues begin and end with the same fictional narrator, a wry, cynical, cake-baking woman who, on learning of the atomic structure of all matter, begins a lifetime of questioning. At times blasphemous, at times poignant and humorous, these voices are never less than heartbreakingly human, and the words they utter chill with their honesty. "The Lives of the Saints" is a stark, wise, meticulously researched book by a writer whose reputation leaps forward with each publication.Suzanne Paola is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow-ship for 2002-2003. She is the author of three award-winning books of poetry, including, most recently, Bardo. Her prose memoir, Body Toxic, is a New York Times Notable Book of the Year for 2001. She lives with her husband and their young son in Bellingham, Washington. At Mary Star of the Sea High School, 5th period science class it got hard to believe in anything, seeing it all as the same at the root - one or two dots' difference, carbon's diamond, or bound with other, almost identical atoms, it's me. Then 7th period Religion we read about the lives of the saints, so it was like hearing them try to yank the absurdity to something else ...I loved those people & their comic gestures. Rose of Lima rubbing pepper in her skin, Jerome turning restlessly on his nails showed their indifference to the state of matter.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Suzanne Paola is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow-ship for 2002-2003. She is the author of three award-winning books of poetry, including, most recently, Bardo. Her prose memoir, Body Toxic, is a New York Times Notable Book of the Year for 2001. She lives with her husband and their young son in Bellingham, Washington.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Washington Pr; 1 edition (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0295982721
• ISBN-13: 978-0295982724
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 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: #4,030,334 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book by a wonderful author, July 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lives of the Saints (The Pacific Northwest Poetry Series) (Hardcover)

This is a beautifully written book that intertwines science, life and poetry. Suzanne seems to draw on her own experiences and mingle them with art. There is a great feeling of truth you get from reading this book, it's real and refreshing.
Suzanne is also a wonderful speaker, words come to life like nowhere else when she reads aloud.
I would recommend this book to anyone, it opens a whole new door in the world of writing.