Two Trees: Poems

by Ellen Bryant Voigt

“A mix of song and sigh, wisdom and simplicity, reminiscent of the work of both Frost and Bishop, Voigt is fascinated by the dualities of childhood and adulthood, mortality and immortality, humanity’s fall from grace and innocence and our constant struggle to impose a sense of order. . . .She guides us in a modest, detailed manner and exposes the humble patterns humans have woven in a chaotic world.” ― Publishers Weekly Human character and human destiny―will and fate―pervade Ellen Voigt’s work, giving her poems of relationship, her exploration of an individual past, rare depth and power. Now, in her fourth collection, a sustained meditation infuses the work, examining the myth of self, the human compulsion to remedy or augment fortune, and the limits of “what’s given and what’s made from luck and will.” Where will and fate collide is what chiefly occupies Voigt.

Genres: Poetry

68 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1992

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Voigt's 4th book of poetry, published in 1992.

The overwhelming sense in this book is one of loss: of children, of childhood, of elders and even of place. Unfortunately, it feels like she's still trying to keep a distance from some of this loss. The poems become a bit obscure, barely alighting on the personal pain behind them, thus losing potential power.

I was impressed with the first two poems and overall enjoyed her use of language. She definitely has a sensitivity to the beauty of sounds. However, she engaged in some drawn out structures ("Variations") that largely lost me. We begin with the mythical source of song in the first poem and then a girl playing the piano in the second, so the musical trope is set up early. I increasingly find myself thinking that I need to study some music theory in order to understand what some poets are doing with their structure. I felt there were things I might have understood if I had that background.

Voigt also leans heavily on origination myths, both those of the Greek pantheon and those of Christianity. Again, I felt that if I was more steeped in Christianity (I was raised atheist) some of these poems might have had more impact.

It was a fast 64 page read and overall enjoyable, but I don't find myself inclined to hold onto it.

[C.B. Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

tldr; Two-Trees is not for me. I give it 2-stars for its presentation. The cover is unforgettable in-the-hands. The durable, coarse linen used for the covers was a great touch.

Now I'm not much for poem structure or iambic pentameter myself, I could live without them both--and at a glance, this collection seems very structured--but it follows no true rhyme scheme, and feels very flat and uninspired.

What appears to be a collection of lengthy sonnets are, in actuality, dry blank-verse.

Stanza 1 might be: ABCDAEFFG
Stanza 2 might be: HIJKLMEN
Stanza 3 might be: OPQCDG

My eye can't keep up! And the words within the lines aren't impactful enough for me to care to decipher their true meaning. I desperately want to find something that resonates with me on these pages, but the superficial observations made throughout just read like homework, and seem forced.

[Jeremy · Rating 2 out of 5]

“After Keats”

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it a lot. Some of the poems about Greek mythology went over my head since I’m not very familiar with it.