Something Bright, Then Holes [Paperback]

Maggie Nelson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2007

Maggie Nelson’s fourth collection of poems combines a wanderer’s attention to landscape with a deeply personal exploration of desire, heartbreak, resilience, accident, and flux. Something Bright, Then Holes explores the problem of losing then recovering sight and insight — of feeling lost, then found, then lost again. The book’s three sections range widely, and include a long sequence of Niedecker-esque meditations written at the shore of a polluted urban canal, a harrowing long poem written at a friend’s hospital bedside, and a series of unsparing, crystalline lyrics honoring the conjoined forces of love and sorrow. Whatever the style, the poems are linked by Nelson’s singular poetic voice, as sly and exacting as it is raw. The collection is a testament to Nelson’s steadfast commitment to chart the facts of feeling, whatever they are, and at whatever the cost.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nelson's newest collection continues the genre dodging of her second poetry collection, Jane: A Mystery. Narrative, sentimental and self-indulgent, this third collection risks many possible poetic pitfalls and comes through unscathed through sheer intensity of and commitment to her voice. Over three sections, Nelson employs a consistent narrator, recognizable settings, recurring characters and a few structures closely resembling plots. But it's not fiction. And though each section also has lines, stanzas, and lyric musicality, it's poetry only in a very loose sense. Instead, it's a stunning collection of real-world stories shadowed by the netherworld of poetry: The hippie tells us his dog/ has terrible luck. A week ago/ it fell into a silo; yesterday/ it got electrocuted while peeing/ on a pole. We don't really know/ how to respond. The sky is amazing/tonight, full of blurry swans. (Nov.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press (September 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933368802
• ISBN-13: 978-1933368801
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 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: #1,006,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something very bright indeed, September 22, 2009

By 

Jimmy V. (Los Angles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Something Bright, Then Holes (Paperback)

I had loads of fun reading this, a good read. A great writer, a good teacher and I really enjoyed knowing that I took a class with a great writer who wrote an awesome book.