Absence Is Such a Transparent House

by Aby Kaupang

Poetry. ABSENCE is insatiable, its boundless appetite preys upon the imagination in ways that language can only hint at. Which is perhaps why poetry is a so apt a vessel for responding to absence: its bare branch lines, its chapel whispers, its embodied silences encapsulate loss in ways other forms of art cannot. Aby Kaupang's poems are inhabited by spirits; they literally speak in tongues; they are 'a tender haunting in the glass beneath the waves.' Anyone who has borne grief will recognize its teethmarks here: grief not just as an idea in the mind, but gnawing at the body, the place where it is most keenly felt"--D. A. Powell.

92 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2011

Reviews

[faith adams-michaels]

a distinct voice. at moments I thought I was about to be let it, about to understand, but then the door was closed again.

[Michelle]

2.5/3 stars. This book took me forever to finish. I love poetry, but this book felt like an inside joke I wasn't in on. There's some jargon, which doesn't usually bother me, but this poetry just felt obscure. There were some intriguing lines, but overall, this verse was not for me.