Intrinsic Night: poetry collection combines science with folklore
Stefanie Maclin
Issue date: 10/22/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment
"Our lips//weave masks, each one//pulled over creation//like a veil, keeping this bride's face//from us."
It provokes many variations of interpretation. This entire section reads like a retelling of the age-old myth, with the inclusion of poems such as "Enigma of the Absolute," "Lillith," and "Becoming Light."
With their reinvention of folk tales and myths, Gage and Stanley manage to give these stories a new twist, and render it almost creepy. In the tale, I felt pity for Lillith, and I sympathized for the angels who fell with Adam and Eve.
The other sections further play on this storytelling. "Foreign Shores" tell of shores afar, but not just space or science or fantasy, but from more obscure and yet familiar places like Kerouac's highways and Poe's basement.
"Interludes" and "Reflections" reflect the mundane, with titles like "View from Alcatraz", "Retina, Detaching," and "Summer Party Sounds" satirizing the banality of life. Yet, also in this section, you're just as likely to find an opinion on a Jackson Pollock painting as you are to find a note on translation.
"Nocturnes" speak of the between places; the between hours and behind the scenes. Reading this section, I felt like a trespasser, unwanted and unwelcome. Again, it was unnerving without being terrifying. I could still feel the chills over my skin.
Finally, "Memento Mori" is reflective. Here, the reflection is more intangible and abstract, like time, death, and loss. Also, the poems allude to paintings, but with a certain detachment.
Delightfully disturbing, surprising at every word, yet, wonderfully balanced and harmonized in measure, pace, and inspiration. Intrinsic Night is well worth the read.
Intrinsic Night is currently available in PDF format only. It is released under the independent publisher Sam's Dot Publishing.
It provokes many variations of interpretation. This entire section reads like a retelling of the age-old myth, with the inclusion of poems such as "Enigma of the Absolute," "Lillith," and "Becoming Light."
With their reinvention of folk tales and myths, Gage and Stanley manage to give these stories a new twist, and render it almost creepy. In the tale, I felt pity for Lillith, and I sympathized for the angels who fell with Adam and Eve.
The other sections further play on this storytelling. "Foreign Shores" tell of shores afar, but not just space or science or fantasy, but from more obscure and yet familiar places like Kerouac's highways and Poe's basement.
"Interludes" and "Reflections" reflect the mundane, with titles like "View from Alcatraz", "Retina, Detaching," and "Summer Party Sounds" satirizing the banality of life. Yet, also in this section, you're just as likely to find an opinion on a Jackson Pollock painting as you are to find a note on translation.
"Nocturnes" speak of the between places; the between hours and behind the scenes. Reading this section, I felt like a trespasser, unwanted and unwelcome. Again, it was unnerving without being terrifying. I could still feel the chills over my skin.
Finally, "Memento Mori" is reflective. Here, the reflection is more intangible and abstract, like time, death, and loss. Also, the poems allude to paintings, but with a certain detachment.
Delightfully disturbing, surprising at every word, yet, wonderfully balanced and harmonized in measure, pace, and inspiration. Intrinsic Night is well worth the read.
Intrinsic Night is currently available in PDF format only. It is released under the independent publisher Sam's Dot Publishing.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
J.E. Stanley
posted 10/23/09 @ 11:20 PM EST
Ms. Maclin,
Thank you for the insightful review.
By the way, Intrinsic Night will be made available in print from Sam's Dot Publishing in early November. (Continued…)
Joshua Gage
posted 10/25/09 @ 11:00 PM EST
Thank you so much for the wonderful review! We really appreciate it.
As J. E. pointed out, the book will soon be in print. Interested readers can pre-order a copy here:
http://www. (Continued…)
Tom Yuhas
posted 10/30/09 @ 11:30 AM EST
I find the emotional impact of J.E. Stanley's writing to be on par with Mark Twain's and Edgar Allen Poe's. Stanley's body of work is deep, clever, and dynamically graceful: downright entertaining to read. (Continued…)
custom essays
posted 11/24/09 @ 11:44 PM EST
I like this review. It is well-written.
quality essay
posted 11/28/09 @ 1:19 AM EST
It is a very interesting article!
Post a Comment