Open Interval (Pitt Poetry Series) [Paperback]

Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2009 | Series: Pitt Poetry Series

Drawing upon intersections of astronomy and mathematics, history, literature, and lived experience, the poems in ]Open Interval[ locate the self in the interval between body and name.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“What joy to enter the universe Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon wills into being. In  ]Open Interval[ Jimi Hendrix, Robert Hass, Rilke, Bearden, John Goodricke, Blues, Desire, Longing, Supernovas, and more are all held together with lyrical daring and fierce imagination. Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon invents a new world to reveal to us the secret workings of the old.”
—Cornelius Eady

“At once luminous and fiercely heartrending.”
—American Poet

“Exceptional . . . represents a quantum leap in imagination, as she has discovered that the more distance one attains from the hardened self, the clearer it becomes to the observer. Her attention has swung from the relaxed narrative line to formal perfection.”
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

About the Author

Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon is assistant professor of English at Cornell University. She is the author of the poetry collection Black Swan, winner of the 2001 Cave Canem Poetry Prize, and coauthor, with Elizabeth Alexander, of the chapbook Poems in Conversation and a Conversation. Her poems have appeared in African American Review, Callaloo, Crab Orchard Review, Rattapallax, Shenandoah, and in several anthologies including Bum Rush the Page and Role Call.

Product Details

• Paperback: 72 pages
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; 1st Edition edition (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822960362
• ISBN-13: 978-0822960362
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #866,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple and Poignant Poetry, April 1, 2011

By 

Debbie Barr - See all my reviews

This review is from: Open Interval (Pitt Poetry Series) (Paperback)

Open Interval is a beautiful and thoughtful book of poetry. Clief-Stefanon's poems focus on everything from astronomy to names, from mythology to paintings. The book is full of literary illusions that beg for further study, and deceptively simple lines with themes that won't be picked up from just one read-through. The poems themselves come in a number of varieties, some with rhyme and rhythm, but many in free verse. The majority are slim, only a few words per line, each line break giving incredible emphasis on the word at the end.

It's difficult to review a book of poetry that is best expressed when it is simply read. Some memorable lines include "The actors mill about the party saying rhubarb/ because other words do not sound like conversation" from "Transit of Venus." And from "July 2005, London" comes the lines " green tangerining orange / yellow careening / peach to pink / the upward momentum / of purple--, then / stunning black:-- / beauty / of burqa-- / of woman: / a walking eclipse."

Clief-Stefanon's words are stunning, her lines delicately crafted so they linger in the mind long after read. It seems she's not afraid to talk about anything in her poetry, touching on personal relationships and thoughts of her own identity that other artists might have shied away from. Though at first look the subjects of the poems might seem a little scattered, the poems of Open Interval are united in unexpected ways. The name of the poet, Lyrae, is also the name of a kind of star, repeated throughout the book as "RR Lyrae." And what of the "Dear John" poems? She unites them together, too, when she mentions how strange it would be to have a name that also means anonymous.

Open Interval is a gorgeous work. Lyare Clief-Stefanon's writing is a must for anyone who loves simple, poignant poetry.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely Worth Taking a Look At, March 23, 2011

By 

Whitney Henkel - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Open Interval (Pitt Poetry Series) (Paperback)

In her book, Open Interval, Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon's reader is immediately pushed into her world from the very first word of her poetry. Her use of the "open interval" is a means to express her theme as well as a way in which to describe her poetry which covers a wide array of subjects. This begins on her dedication page with the quote, ". . . and it really didn't have to stop/it just kept on going". Each poem can be seen as a commentary on life or Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon's view of a subject or situation. She expresses her skill as a writer in her poetic technique as well as the wide variety of topics that she is not only able to write on, but write well on. For example, she breaks her book up into chapters; however, these chapters do not create breaks in her subject matter since she continues the use of some of her poem titles (just with different sub-headings) throughout various chapters. In this book, she once again plays on the stars that she was named for, successfully placing herself in her poetry and giving each individual poem a personal feel. This book is both for those who have a previous love for Van Clief-Stefanon's work as well as those who want to be entertained and enlightened in their reading. In the interaction between author and reader, a secret handshake occurs where the author extends the necessary tools for the reader to reach meaning within the work if the reader will in turn attempt to understand the author and what they are trying to say within the work. Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon is an author who accomplishes her part and it is up to the reader to discover it through her pages. Overall, it is an excellent read!

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!, September 24, 2009

By 

A. Odunsi (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Open Interval (Pitt Poetry Series) (Paperback)

This collection of poems is inspiring, insightful and sublime. Ms. VanClief-Stephanon takes her readers to another galaxy with these poems. A must buy!