Vidya, I am posting a sample poem from Anne Hartigan's collection "Nourishment". But before scrolling down, do read about the collection. Best regards, Rumjhum Nourishment Poems by ANNE LE MARQUAND HARTIGAN
June 2005 Nourishment celebrates the feasts, and mourns the fasts, of deep sexual love. Essential nourishment indeed: for this is what it is to be fully human, to rejoice in the radiant dance of one's body with another's, and to sing soul unto soul. Anne Hartigan's work has always been acutely tuned to the sacredness of the sensual. Her rhythms spring from the page, re-inventing themselves with echoes of chants and prayers and charms. These poems reinvent and rewrite the erotic before our eyes, and 'rinse and wring the ear' with their rare emotional intelligence and compassion. Catherine Byron In Nourishment Hartigan explores the possibilities of love, sex and desire. The age-old association of food and sexuality is inscribed with the sacred connotations of a "holy sin", a private ritual that encompasses physical and emotional healing as well as the creative possibilities of words rooted in bodily experience. Love is both constructed by the social and unquestionably ruled by the needs of the individual. Hartigan's poems accomplish the difficult task of writing about love without ever falling prey to sentimentality. At times purely physical, at times deeply in love, her voice contributes to the dismantling of old-fashioned conceptions of female sexuality. These poems are a treat for the senses and present Anne Hartigan as undoubtedly one of the most talented voices in contemporary Irish poetry. Luz Mar González Arias, Universidad de Oviedo, Asturias, Spain About the Poet ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- Anne Le Marquand Hartigan is an award winning poet, playwright, and artist. This is her fifth collection of poetry. Her many awards include the Open Poetry Award from Listowel Writers' Week, The Mobil Playwriting Award for her play The Secret Game, and awards for her visual art. Her poetry has been translated and included in anthologies worldwide and Anne has enjoyed the experience of reading her poetry internationally. She performed La Corbiere at the Samuel Beckett Theatre, Dublin, as a solo work in 1996. Of her five full length plays, Beds and La Corbiere were premiered at the Dublin Theatre Festival. Her work has been performed in the USA, New Zealand, Lebanon, and at the Edinburgh Festival. Her wide ranging work includes radio, a silent mime, prose, and her recent humorous poetry for children. Title Poem from "Nourishment" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- Nourishment Because I have lain on your deep Africa Gorse light and dusty cinnamon, burnt umbers You drank deep of my waters north and south, Arising dripping, a dark god. Knowledge of interiors. How simple to exchange continents, to play so easily A classic music. Child's play, intricate and private, allowing love space To move in. A sacred grove, rowan, ash, laurel To cast and shed spells. This enchantment is as natural As the moon. This is the first touch. Shock: your unknown Face, skin. I roam in ochres, duns, siennas, gifts Spread before me on the white cloth. This is the necessary Air and water, the bread my mouth waters for, it can go on. --- In ZESTPoets@yahoogroups.com, vidya anjali <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > There are moments when you can see what you have done > And wish that all could simply be undone. The spark of truth > Will strike you only when, all is over; there's nothing to reckon. > Such is regret that it pinches in your heart and makes you crave > For all that is gone. Like fools we sleep when there is shining sun > And in the darkness fully awaken… > > > -- You are encouraged to post poetry, respond critically to the poems circulated and participate in discussions. To post, email your message to ZESTPoets@yahoogroups.com OR post online at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/post/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
