Gardening in the Dark

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Summary: A compilation of free-verse poetry
Review:
Award-winning poet Laura Kasischke presents Gardening in the Dark, a compilation of free-verse poetry that blends daily experience with contemplation of omnipresent forces, both internal and external, that drive one for good or ill. Speaking directly from the recognizable portions of ordinary life, yet carrying a deeper undercurrent of the human struggle, the words are evocative of the human spirit coping with adversity in mundane and severe circumstances alike. "The Internet": The first time I set down to it alone / I am flesh surrounded by space. // The space begins at the edges of my body / and from there it expands to contain // everything. // I've sinned. / Cannot be saved. / Surrounding me is this strange haze / made of information.


Rating:
Summary: Gardening in the Dark
Review: Laura Kasischke's poetry, like Sylvia Plath's, often begins and circles domestic, everyday experience: going to the country fair, trying on a dress, being pulled over by the police for speeding, eating fast food. Yet those experiences constantly point elsewhere, to perils beyond. . .Stitched through is a dark humor of someone who knows she has a lot to lose, has already had a hell of a time losing half of it and soon enough will lose the rest. And somehow, Laura Kasischke makes it all seem nearly a celebration.-Dean Young