Vertigo (National Poetry Series Books) [Paperback]

Martha Ronk (Author)

Book Description

Series: National Poetry Series Books | Publication Date: September 1, 2007

A National Poetry Series winner, chosen by C.D. Wright.

This visionary seventh collection by the PEN USA Award-winning poet pivots around uncertainties, mysteries, and the unexpected to find the language of the mind's theater. Melancholy and playful, analytic and lyrical, Vertigo immerses the reader in a dense realm of memory and multiple perspectives, repositioning our relations to daily life, the past, and the future.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. An airy, evanescent tone and long, drifting sentences that blend memory with the present characterize Ronk's eighth book, selected by C.D. Wright for the National Poetry Series. Ronk (In a Landscape of Having to Repeat) masterfully operates at the intersection of meditative investigation and day-to-day domesticity. In these poems, all is determined/ by the most complex of interdependencies. In fact, this work is as much about the intricacies of the artist's role, about doubt and uncertainty, as it is about whatever subject matter the poems take up. Ronk is able to create haunting and arresting images within this milieu: There are never enough pages to describe/ the expanse of a valley where a low-lying cloud/ rims the view and blankets out everything one might see. Ronk often works in conversation with other artists; this book shares its title with one by W.G. Sebald, and many of the poems appropriate phrases from his writing. These short, stunning lyrics should solidify Ronk's place as an original and important contemporary American voice. (Sept.)
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About the Author

Ronk, who teaches Renaissance literature and creative writing at Occidental College in Los Angeles, is the author of seven books of poetry including In a Landscape of Having to Repeat, winner of the PEN USA Poetry Award. Poems from Vertigo, a National Poetry Series winning collection selected by CD Wright, have appeared in American Poetry Review, Boston Review, and elsewhere.

Product Details

• Paperback: 86 pages
• Publisher: Coffee House Press; First Edition edition (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566892058
• ISBN-13: 978-1566892056
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #770,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Martha Ronk is an extremely distinguished American poet and fiction writer. Her work has garnered critical accolades and numerous awards including, most recently, a 2005 PEN USA Award in Poetry, a 2006 National Poetry Series Award, and a 2007 NEA Fellowsh