AN Octave above Thunder (Poets, Penguin) [Paperback]

Carol Muske (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997 | Series: Poets, Penguin

An Octave Above Thunder presents a collection of poems spanning more than twenty years in the career of Carol Muske, who has won acclaim for work that marries sophisticated intelligence, emotional resonance, and technical craft. This volume brings together new poems and a generous selection of work from Muske's five previously published collections.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An Octave Above Thunder finds poet and critic Carol Muske looking back on 20 fruitful years of writing. Muske is the author of five previously published books of poetry, including Red Trousseau and Skylight, as well as 1997's well-received collection of essays Women and Poetry: Truth, Autobiography and the Shape of the Self. In Women and Poetry, Muske uses her own poetry to trace the evolution of her ideas about women, poetry, and the self; in this collection of both new and older work, she mines her past for the poems themselves. The result is a triumph, a lyrical and lucid contemplation of the personal, the political, and the public spaces where these sometimes converge. In "The Invention of Cuisine," Muske paints a "still life of our meals," a portrait of the historical moment in which "the pure impulse to eat" becomes the drive to create: "this little moment / before the woman redeems / the sprouted seeds at her feet / and gathers the olives falling from the trees/ for her recipes. / Imagine..." It's a small but vivid portrait of the transformative power of imagination and art--much like An Octave Above Thunder itself.

From Library Journal

In the polite, cocktail-party din of much American poetry at the end of the century, it could be easy to miss Muske. Like the work of many (some would say too many) accomplished contemporaries, hers is intelligent, observant, introspective, urbanely wry, and attentive to craft. This collection of ten new poems plus selections from her previous five books?including the well-received Red Trousseau (LJ 2/1/93)?reveals an expanding poetic consciousness, from 1970s Surrealism Lite ("I sit blowing ghosts into my wrists"), through feminism and political awareness ("Now we/ can't afford to be anonymous."), to self-analysis and ambitious meditation ("An Octave Above Thunder"). Muske often starts with an experience in the physical world, working inward to the psyche, the abstract dream state from which startling awareness or revelation might be expected to emerge, but through "page after page/ of Pictures in the Mind" the poems somehow escape a final solidity ("The sky fills with invisible comets."), despite their sometimes trenchant tone and carefully wrought gravity. For larger poetry collections?Fred Muratori, Cornell Univ. Lib., Ithaca, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140587942
• ISBN-13: 978-0140587944
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,455,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasure From Sound, March 27, 2000

By 

Stacey M. Phillips - See all my reviews

This review is from: AN Octave above Thunder (Poets, Penguin) (Paperback)

In the oral tradition of literature, it was necessary to use alliteration and eidetic "tricks" in order to effectively and faithfully pass along the exhaustive details and subtle nuances of an original poem. Carol Muske returns to poetic origin in "An Octave Above Thunder", giving her readership a body of work that begs to be read aloud. Thus, in many of Muske's poems, the joy is in the presentation- the feel of the tongue alliterating and the sensual quality of her construction.

Muske is a lyricist who creates intellectual music. In the poem "At the School for the Gifted", she describes a classroom blackboard as "cut out camels plodding across the blackboard's high/ sill. Yet the desert below refuses to unfurl its/ mica wings" (31). Not only is this a fresh visual, but so too is the language. Muske's work delights the ear. Therefore, much of the beauty of craftsamnship is lost if the words are silently ingested. What I found most beautiful is how each poem has a moment that moves the reader to open their mouths and speak her words. It is this musicality and precision that I will remember from "An Octave Above Thunder".

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thematic Mastery, April 13, 2000

By 

Joelle L. Renstrom - See all my reviews

This review is from: AN Octave above Thunder (Poets, Penguin) (Paperback)

Carol Muske's book "An Octave Above Thunder" is a tribute to Muske's ability to weave themes and subthemes into her book. The book explores everything from the power of a woman's voice to sex to death. She is also masterful at using language to illustrate gestures and actions that seem indescribable. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the richness of images and words.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well-crafted poems with a lot of stuff for writers to steal, June 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: AN Octave above Thunder (Poets, Penguin) (Paperback)

If you get easily bored with poetry, but desperately love it anyway -- read this. The writing is complex, yet spare. I intend to reread Muske's book to catch what monster catfish I missed the first time. If you want something fun and superficial, try Hal Sirowitz and not this.