The Method [Paperback]

Sasha Steensen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2008

The Method is a manuscript of theorems written by Archimedes in the tenth century, a palimpsested text. Steensen takes The Method and its history as a jumping-off place for a meditation on the relationships developed between a person and her historical truth. She treads carefully in the terrain of fact that foregrounds investigations, and emerges centuries and centuries on.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This cycle of poems centering on the history of a manuscript of theorems and proofs by Archimedes—also called The Method, and composed in Syracuse around 250 B.C.—raises deep questions, sometimes asked by Archimedes' book itself, about the forces that act upon a text to change and possibly corrupt its meaning: The Method had heard some say:/ 'he or she/ took a little part of me/ when they took their leave/ of me.'  There's an elegiac tone throughout, as Steensen confronts the fact that while Archimedes' manuscript has been recovered, parts have also been destroyed, plagiarized and commodified to the point that the reader, along with the writer, becomes haunted by the notion of an ever-changing text. Steensen guides us through the long journey of this ancient manuscript and artfully demonstrates how a book is a record of power dynamics in this multifaceted exploration of the complicated relationship between an author and her creation, which speaks both for and against its author, contending, They scheme against you: but I too have My schemes./ Therefore, bear with the unbelievers, and let them be awhile. (Mar.)
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Review

"Whereas many poetry collections in the last few years have fully incorporated a single idea as the driving point of the entire collection, Steensen uses the Archimedes text as a jumping off point. Method ties all the poems together, but it does not override each poem's unique existence for the sole sake of keeping the series consistent. Steensen quickly moves beyond a mere versifying of remnants of the Archimedes text and creates a world for Method that is resonant: Steensen in similarly deft fashion takes on the profession of the poet and the act of writing without seeming didactic or merely appealing to other writers. Her verse goes beyond the workshop and beyond the bounds of the academy to make itself relevant to any reader. She draws the connection between the act of writing and every person's daily task of making sense of their own life... ...Steensen's verse is poignant without being didactic. Her poems touch upon both timeless issues and contemporary issues, while still creating lines that are interesting, beautiful, humorous, and desirous in their own right as pure art."--Andrew Wessels, www.bookslut.com

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Product Details

• Paperback: 61 pages
• Publisher: Fence Books (November 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934200174
• ISBN-13: 978-1934200179
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 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: #2,080,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Palimsest of Poetry Over a Dream of History, December 20, 2008

By 

Willard R. Johnson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Method (Paperback)

Not a collection, but forty-four poems making up a single work. From a review on Jacob Russell's Barking Dog: "Simply the best book of poetry I've read in long time." From the book jacket: The original "Method is a manuscript of theorems and proofs written and diagrammed by the mathematician Archimedes in Syracuse around 250 BC."

"A book lost, found, written over by prayers and bills of lading, stolen leaves transported to Cambridge, auctioned at Chirstie's, a journey become a dream palimpsest by Sasha Steensen. Read in a single gulp this morning from which I pulled myself free as reluctantly as from my morning dreams of a few hours earlier. Found yesterday at Robins lying on the table in the back where books of poetry are shelved, this is poetry that makes me wish there were no need in my life for anything but reading poetry."