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Conspiracy of Leaves

by Wendy Babiak (Goodreads Author)

4.43 of 5 stars 4.43 · rating details · 7 ratings · 3 reviews

Wendy Babiak's Conspiracy of Leaves feels like a mixtape made by a dear friend who wants to stir up your endorphins but also challenge you to think. Her poems are at once deeply personal and resolutely political, direct and ornate, conversant in the language of science but unafraid of the spiritual and ecstatic. She'll teach your brain myriad new ways to juggle.
Tim Horvat...more Wendy Babiak's Conspiracy of Leaves feels like a mixtape made by a dear friend who wants to stir up your endorphins but also challenge you to think. Her poems are at once deeply personal and resolutely political, direct and ornate, conversant in the language of science but unafraid of the spiritual and ecstatic. She'll teach your brain myriad new ways to juggle.
Tim Horvath
Author of Circulation
Conspiracy of Leaves leads us along the trajectory of a deeply feminine poetics, the kind that writes "pen in my left hand and rolling pin in my right," speaking "beatnik beatitudes" with a welcome herb-garden-variety skepticism unafraid of spinning utopias. Babiak sings: "if I were a dragon I would dress in drag" and "Death comes to call and I'm all out of cookies" and "I wish I could sew us a few pairs of wings."
Delighted, we at once put our trust in the wise, hilarious, sophisticated magic of this voice. It is a voice capable of imagining itself absolutely anywhere, starting from the fertile dirt floor of creation's kitchen and springing up into an astronaut's-eye view. Hooting, tearing up, and vibing along with Babiak's tale, I can't wait to see where she takes us next. Her courage and range are so human, they're infinite.
Ana Boievi
Author of Stars of the Night Commute
Wendy Babiak wipes everyday landscapes down with quirky, kaleidoscopic rags "pieced together from the brightest and the darkest bits" of the world's beliefs. In the same breath she writes Chronos as an impatient waiter, a dragon as her pocket companion, Buddha's disciples at a get-Nirvana-quick seminar, and a Jesus-less Mary and Joseph in New Orleans. She weaves these archetypal, oft-bloody stories into rhythmic free-verse & rondeau & tour-de-force sestina-sonnet hybrid, headily mining their imagery and calling them out on their bull. Conspiracy of Leaves rattles with the variety of a redeemed, joyous Pandora's box at whose bottom the hope Babiak offers shines with all the hues of "the diaphanous nature of matter." You won't want to miss this dance of molecule with meter; like me, you might sway along.
Amy King
Author of Slaves to Do These Things
and forthcoming, I Want to Make You Safe
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Paperback, 86 pages

Published April 15th 2010 by Plain View Press

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May 15, 2010 Wendy Babiak rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

Don't take my word for it...here are what some other folks had to say (from the back cover):

Wendy Babiak’s Conspiracy of Leaves feels like a mixtape made by a dear friend who wants to stir up your endorphins but also challenge you to think. Her poems are at once deeply personal and resolutely political, direct and ornate, conversant in the language of science but unafraid of the spiritual and ecstatic. She’ll teach your brain myriad new ways to juggle.

–Tim Horvath, author of Circulation (sunnyou...more Don't take my word for it...here are what some other folks had to say (from the back cover):

Wendy Babiak’s Conspiracy of Leaves feels like a mixtape made by a dear friend who wants to stir up your endorphins but also challenge you to think. Her poems are at once deeply personal and resolutely political, direct and ornate, conversant in the language of science but unafraid of the spiritual and ecstatic. She’ll teach your brain myriad new ways to juggle.

–Tim Horvath, author of Circulation (sunnyoutside press).

Conspiracy of Leaves leads us along the trajectory of a deeply feminine poetics, the kind that writes “pen in my left hand and rolling pin in my right,” speaking “beatnik beatitudes” with a welcome herb-garden-variety skepticism unafraid of spinning utopias. Babiak sings: “if I were a dragon I would dress in drag” and “Death comes to call and I’m all out of cookies” and “I wish I could sew us a few pairs of wings.”
Delighted, we at once put our trust in the wise, hilarious, sophisticated magic of this voice. It is a voice capable of imagining itself absolutely anywhere, starting from the fertile dirt floor of creation’s kitchen and springing up into an astronaut’s-eye view. Hooting, tearing up, and vibing along with Babiak’s tale, I can’t wait to see where she takes us next. Her courage and range are so human, they’re infinite.

–Ana Božičević, author of Stars of the Night Commute (Tarpaulin Sky Press)

Wendy Babiak wipes everyday landscapes down with quirky, kaleidoscopic rags “pieced together from the brightest and the darkest bits” of the world’s beliefs. In the same breath she writes Chronos as an impatient waiter, a dragon as her pocket companion, Buddha’s disciples at a get-Nirvana-quick seminar, and a Jesus-less Mary and Joseph in New Orleans. She weaves these archetypal, oft-bloody stories into rhythmic free-verse & rondeau & tour-de-force sestina-sonnet hybrid, headily mining their imagery and calling them out on their bull. Conspiracy of Leaves rattles with the variety of a redeemed, joyous Pandora’s box at whose bottom the hope Babiak offers shines with all the hues of “the diaphanous nature of matter.” You won’t want to miss this dance of molecule with meter; like me, you might sway along.

–Amy King, author of, most recently, Slaves to Do These Things (Blazevox Books) and forthcoming, I Want to Make You Safe (Litmus Press)
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Nov 06, 2011 Joanne Merriam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Loved this book. Babiak's use of language is always thoughtful and compressed.

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Dec 03, 2010 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Stellar, engaging work! Get a copy for the holidays. Or for your birthday. Or for everyday!

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Nov 30, 2012 Reb marked it as to-read

Shelves: poetry

Nov 21, 2012 Katherine Aldridge rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oct 30, 2012 Anna marked it as poetry

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Jan 15, 2011 Mary rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Shelves: women-writers

May 14, 2010 Ana rated it 5 of 5 stars

May 14, 2010 David rated it 3 of 5 stars

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About Wendy Babiak

Wendy Babiak is the author of Conspiracy of Leaves (Plain View Press). Her poems have appeared recently in Poems Against War, Tampa Review, No Tell Motel, Free Inquiry, Big Bridge and Poets for Living Waters.

Her work has also been anthologized in print as well as on a CD. Here you can listen to her read "Nonsense Poem #1," an ars poetica included in her forthcoming book. (Scroll down and click on...more

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