Rating: 
Summary: Stunning Debut
Review: "Archaic Smile", a term from art history, refers to the enigmatic smiles on Greek statues from the archaic period, which ends roughly with the sack of Athens by the Persians in 480 B.C. What is enigmatic about the archaic smile is that the serenity or pleasure suggested by the facial expression is commonly at odds with the sculptural narrative, which may depict a character in mortal danger or pain, as in the pediment from the temple of Aphaia at Aigina, housed in Munich, or the many statues from the so-called Persian destruction layer of the acropolis, housed in the National Museum at Athens and including the statue on the dust jacket of "Archaic Smile."
In the first section of "Archaic Smile" it seems to me that Stallings explores the notion that death, as reflected in familiar myths, is like ataraxia, that condition of freedom from anxiety that was an ideal of the Epicureans. (Perhaps this has something to do with Stallings' interest in Lucretius). Because this conceit, this association between death and philosophical serenity, is attractive without being totally satisfying, it presents opportunities for drama and a sort of dialectic which give to these poems, as to poems in the later sections of "Archaic Smile," much of their tension and many of their moments of discovery.
Stallings' poems shows an awareness of suffering and of the ephemeral nature of pleasure and triumph, but this awareness yields neither bitterness nor self-obsession. Rather, her poems have far more in them of joy and consolation than of sorrow or complaint. I will refrain from saying much about her technique, since earlier reviews have made it clear how widely admired she is for her lyric virtuosity. Stallings is most certainly a lyric virtuoso, but her poems are also full of life and wisdom. They will please a casual perusal, and generously reward the most careful reading.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning Debut
Review: "Archaic Smile", a term from art history, refers to the enigmatic smiles on Greek statues from the archaic period, which ends roughly with the sack of Athens by the Persians in 480 B.C. What is enigmatic about the archaic smile is that the serenity or pleasure suggested by the facial expression is commonly at odds with the sculptural narrative, which may depict a character in mortal danger or pain, as in the pediment from the temple of Aphaia at Aigina, housed in Munich, or the many statues from the so-called Persian destruction layer of the acropolis, housed in the National Museum at Athens and including the statue on the dust jacket of "Archaic Smile."
In the first section of "Archaic Smile" it seems to me that Stallings explores the notion that death, as reflected in familiar myths, is like ataraxia, that condition of freedom from anxiety that was an ideal of the Epicureans. (Perhaps this has something to do with Stallings' interest in Lucretius). Because this conceit, this association between death and philosophical serenity, is attractive without being totally satisfying, it presents opportunities for drama and a sort of dialectic which give to these poems, as to poems in the later sections of "Archaic Smile," much of their tension and many of their moments of discovery.
Stallings' poems shows an awareness of suffering and of the ephemeral nature of pleasure and triumph, but this awareness yields neither bitterness nor self-obsession. Rather, her poems have far more in them of joy and consolation than of sorrow or complaint. I will refrain from saying much about her technique, since earlier reviews have made it clear how widely admired she is for her lyric virtuosity. Stallings is most certainly a lyric virtuoso, but her poems are also full of life and wisdom. They will please a casual perusal, and generously reward the most careful reading.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning Debut
Review: "Archaic Smile", a term from art history, refers to the enigmatic smiles on Greek statues from the archaic period, which ends roughly with the sack of Athens by the Persians in 480 B.C. What is enigmatic about the archaic smile is that the serenity or pleasure suggested by the facial expression is commonly at odds with the sculptural narrative, which may depict a character in mortal danger or pain, as in the pediment from the temple of Aphaia at Aigina, housed in Munich, or the many statues from the so-called Persian destruction layer of the acropolis, housed in the National Museum at Athens and including the statue on the dust jacket of "Archaic Smile."
In the first section of "Archaic Smile" it seems to me that Stallings explores the notion that death, as reflected in familiar myths, is like ataraxia, that condition of freedom from anxiety that was an ideal of the Epicureans. (Perhaps this has something to do with Stallings' interest in Lucretius). Because this conceit, this association between death and philosophical serenity, is attractive without being totally satisfying, it presents opportunities for drama and a sort of dialectic which give to these poems, as to poems in the later sections of "Archaic Smile," much of their tension and many of their moments of discovery.
Stallings' poems shows an awareness of suffering and of the ephemeral nature of pleasure and triumph, but this awareness yields neither bitterness nor self-obsession. Rather, her poems have far more in them of joy and consolation than of sorrow or complaint. I will refrain from saying much about her technique, since earlier reviews have made it clear how widely admired she is for her lyric virtuosity. Stallings is most certainly a lyric virtuoso, but her poems are also full of life and wisdom. They will please a casual perusal, and generously reward the most careful reading.
Rating:
Summary: one of the finest volumes of poetry
Review: Alicia Stallings' first collection of poetry is one of the most amazing books I've read. Not only is she the best poet of her generation, but one of the best of any generation. This book is amazing. Her education in Classics shows in her work. Section I takes different myths and creates the most amazing poems, like her dramatic monologues from Hades and Persephone. She takes also Apollo, eurydice and others. But there is more to this collection than just classical mythology. Just see "The Man Who Wouldn't Plant Willow Trees" to see Stallings at her very best. I will say, section II, titled A Bestiary, is rather weak. With the exception of the final poem, "A Lament for the Dead Pets of Our Childhood," I found most of the poems weak. But despite that, Stallings technical skill, her beautiful use of language, and her all around skill makes this one of the best collections I've read.
Rating:
Summary: An Expansive Poet.
Review: For a first book of poetry, A.E. Stallings' "Archaic Smile" contains an unusually high ratio of excellent poems. The volume represents a blending of scalpel-sharp, formal craftsmanship with intelligently devised content. Twenty years ago, there were very few American poets writing in meter, rhyme, and form. Today there are more than enough for critics to begin to separate the worthwhile from the mediocre. A.E. Stallings' poems are original, elegant, memorable, and meaningful.
Rating:
Summary: A. E. Stallings first collection is a jewel!
Review: From mythology and its great figures to the small, yet pertinent moments of personal experience, Ms. Stallings' first collection leaves in its wake an immense feeling awe and satisfaction. There is nothing archaic in Stallings' use of language or the image -- she allows "old" figures to speak from new perspectives, and in doing so recreates for us the world of their stories. Her book is inspiring for its demonstration that classical forms can have pertinent use and meaning in the contemporary world of poetry.
Rating:
Summary: A. E. Stallings first collection is a jewel!
Review: From mythology and its great figures to the small, yet pertinent moments of personal experience, Ms. Stallings' first collection leaves in its wake an immense feeling awe and satisfaction. There is nothing archaic in Stallings' use of language or the image -- she allows "old" figures to speak from new perspectives, and in doing so recreates for us the world of their stories. Her book is inspiring for its demonstration that classical forms can have pertinent use and meaning in the contemporary world of poetry.
Rating:
Summary: ARCHAIC SMILE IN NEO-FORMALIST STYLE
Review: If you like the poetry of Thomas Hardy, Y.B.Yeats, Robert Frost, Edwin Arlington Robinson, George Santayana, Walter de la Mare, Richard Wilbur, Elizabeth Daryush, Elizabeth Jennings, Catherine Breese Davis, John Masefield, Stanley Kunitz and Gjertrud Schnackenburg, you will enjoy this new entry into the New Formalist roster. Compression of thought, clarity of expression, vivid metaphors, technical mastery of rhyme/meter all coalesce into strong poetry that asks to be read and re-read. Some powerful favorites include Tour of Labyrinth, Why the Saying is 'As the Crow Flies' and the following excerpt, The Mistake:The mistake was light and easy in my hand,/ A seed meant to be scattered upon the land;/ I did not have to bury it or blow/ But opened up my palm and let it go./ The mistake was dry and small and without weight/ So wind could quickly snatch it toward its fate/ And even had I sought to circumvent/ Nobody dared inform me where it went./ The mistake would never meet my thoughts again,/ Until the spring came, soft and full of rain./ There in the yard fresh dandelions grew/ Compounding my misstep - then (oops!) they blew. Technical mastery is a necessary but not sufficient condition of outstanding poetry. I look forward to further work that builds on the solid foundation found here,well on the way to excellence. While most of her themes are rooted in classical Greek mythology, the more she can bring her themes into the 21st Century will show whether she is capable of joining the list of poets mentioned above who have passed the true test of time.
Rating: 
Summary: Poetry should be made of sterner stuff
Review: Like most contemporary poetry, Alicia Stallings is trying very hard to say nothing well. Since poetry became a profession, funded mostly by student's tuition, but more and more by grants and prizes, it has lost its nature. Incestuous and self-centered, poetry is a field with many writers seeking security and no readers. Each poem in this volume is forgettable, each line is gone before the next is read. Alicia has studied classics? She knows Greek, and does translations? Well, that's certainly a path, the one that Merwin, Bly and others have taken. One can also teach. Or write left-wing political commentary. But it would be nice if, in this day and age, a poet would drag a clubfoot across Europe and attack Lepanto. Verse would be better for it.
Rating:
Summary: A dazzling smile
Review: That over-used tag 'collector's item' is well-deserved by this publication. Readers whose knowledge of Greek myth is rusty or rudimentary need have nothing to fear. A.A.Stallings wears her learning as lightly as she holds the reins of her metrical horses. Humour bubbles up from time to time as does a tenderness which never slurps into sentimentality.
Themes range from the personal (housework, lost belongings, garden disasters) to the public (the instability of urban civilization, the festering scars of war). Practising poets have much to learn from Stallings' easy switches from myth to modern
reality, from colloquial to formal registers. Hers is indeed an art which conceals art.
More, please!
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