ORIOLING

by Ann Silsbee, Ann Sisbee

“Some months after the judging panel chose Ann Silsbee’s Orioling as the winner of the Ben Saltman Award from Red Hen Press, I reread the manuscript only to find myself totally bowled over by the poems. Silsbee brings so much to the table in her poetry, it’s hard to know where to begin to praise such work. I had loved this collection from my first reading of it, but subsequent readings have put me in awe of the wonderful spirit behind the poems and the exquisite language of which they are made. If I had to pick a favorite, I’d say “The Ten Thousand Things,” but that’s just because it’s a perfect movie of the creative process. There’s no doubt in my mind but that this book is going to open some eyes and put a star on the map wherever Ann Silsbee spends her time.” ―Eloise Klein Healy

88 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2003

About the author

Full name: Ann Livingston Loomis Silsbee

Reviews

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book taught me that in addition to cliche phrases, cliche jokes, and cliche scene structures, there’s also such a thing as cliche of thought.

The language in these poems is relentlessly original—almost every piece contains one or more moments of truly inventive phrasing, or failing that, of music, or masterfully composed line break.

And yet, I feel that I’ve read almost all of these poems before, because precious few of them arrive at conclusions—emotionally or intellectually—I haven’t encountered elsewhere. They’re uniquely difficult to evaluate because of how directly their expert lyricism conflicts with their frequently mundane rhetorical moves.