"Wisdom of the Body" is a meditation in poetry on our bodies and how they change, on the central mystery of being caught in time. It is about sex, death, and the experience of living. There are poems about Down Syndrome and open heart surgery, about how flower gardens grow, how we deal with sorrow, and how the heart functions. There is a series of poems on the life cycle of Pacific Northwest salmon, and poems from the libretto of a musical piece by noted composer Janice Gitech, "Navigating the Light," which was written for and with incarcerated children in Washington State. Sharon Doubiago offers this testimonial: "These poems are formal, elegant, majestic. At the same time they are driven by a wild passion, 'the beauty of pure pluck.' Judith Roche's poems come close to saying the Unspeakable. They're of 'bodiness' the bodiness of soul, of self, the waters, the earth, the light, the psyche. 'Wisdom of the Body' is an astounding achievement, the work of one of our most important poets in full maturity." Tom Jay says: "The poems in 'Wisdom of the Body' are extravagant, ferocious, and humble. Judith Roche sings the paradox of celebration and wonder in the midst of terrible suffering and invites us into the moment's living slipperiness. She guides us into a world of surprise where mortal passion defies and trumps the infinite masks of fear and denial."
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
In her luminous third collection, Roche's subject is the body as a cultural and spiritual as well as physical form. In the magnificent "Credo," she lists what sustains her: "I believe in the cave paintings at Lascaux, / The beauty of the clavicle, / The journey of the salmon . . . I believe in the wisdom of the body." That wisdom isn't without pain, and the book is haunted by the deaths that occur when "Someone will come at the end / and tell you a story so beautiful / you will rise out of yourself / and go into it," as she almost did, she tells us in an autobiographical poem about nearly drowning. Yet the body's wisdom is expanded rather than limited by death, which enjoins us to more vivid life: "The mouth knows the taste of its own tongue / hungers for savor, makes meaning / of sound, trying to name truth." This is a powerful and courageous book, full of lyric intensity and crystal-sharp imagery. Patricia Monaghan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"In her luminous third collection, Roche's subject is the body as a cultural and spiritual as well as physical form. In the magnificent 'Credo,' she lists what sustains her: 'I believe in the cave paintings at Lascaux,/ The beauty of the clavicle,/ The journey of the salmon...I believe in the wisdom of the body.' That wisdom isn't without pain, and the book is haunted by the deaths that occur when 'Someone will come at the end/ and tell you a story so beautiful/ you will rise out of yourself/ and go into it,' as she almost did, she tells us in an autobiographical poem about nearly drowning. Yet the body's wisdom is expanded rather than limited by death, which enjoins us to more vivid life: 'The mouth knows the taste of its own tongue/ hungers for savor, makes meaning/ of sound, trying to name truth.' This is a powerful and courageous book, full of lyric intensity and crystal-sharp imagery." --Patricia Monaghan, "Booklist," April 15, 2007
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