Learning to See in Three Dimensions: Poetry

by Pamela Spiro Wagner

In her second collection of poetry, Learning to See in Three Dimensions, Pamela Spiro Wagner takes us deep into an exploration of the human condition by delving into the worlds of relationships, religion, nature, and mental health. In each poem--and through each intense piece of original artwork included in the book--we are led up to a line and dared to cross it into a new paradigm of understanding the world. In "Mosaic" we are challenged to understand "assembling beauty from broken things"; in "State Property" we are led to consider how with "one aching brick at a time, / some walls are built, others are torn down..."; in "Friday Night Vigil" we must reconcile "How lovely the world is, although it's dying." Just as powerful and original as Wagner's insights is her description: "like the poplar / still spilling her yellow dress / to the insistent fingertips of fall" in "When I Lose You" and in "Afterwards, What the Mother Said," in which Wagner writes of the mother of a jihadist martyr, "But had I known of his plans / I would have taken a blade, sliced open my heart and crammed him deep inside. // I would have seamed it tight to seal him in. / I would have never let him go." In this rich, full collection, Wagner's poetry pulls us into new territory through her alternating playfulness, hope, and, especially in the superb section Poems In Which I Speak Frankly, courage, a courage from which we all have much to learn.

139 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2017

About the author

A writer and artist who lives with diagnoses of schizophrenia and narcolepsy, plus CNS Lyme disease, Pamela Spiro Wagner graduated magna cum laude from Brown University and attended medical school for one year. Despite having spent at least twelve years of her life in psychiatric units, she has won many awards, including a First Place in the 2001/2 International Poetry Competition sponsored by the BBC World Service. In 2005, she co-authored, with her twin sister, a psychiatrist, Divided Minds: Twin Sisters and their Journey through Schizophrenia (St Martin’s Press, 2005), which won the national NAMI Outstanding Literature Award and was a finalist for the Connecticut Book Award. Her work has appeared in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, LA Weekly and Tikkun among other places. WE MAD CLIMB SHAKY LADDERS IS HER FIRST BOOK OF POETRY, about mental illness. Her second book of poems , LEARNING TO SEE IN THREE DIMENSIONS (title tentative) by Cavankerry Press will be released sometime in 2017. Wagner is also a prolific self-taught artist. The art of "pamwagg," which she only just started doing since 2008, may be viewed at her blog: https://pamelaspirowagner.com, along with current writing.
Born in Washington, Wagner lived most of her life in Connecticut but has recently moved to Vermont.

Reviews

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOTE: I won this book in a GR Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

What a terrific gem! I loved everything about this book:
- the soft, velvety feel of the cover
- the incredible artwork throughout
- how the poems in each section match the artwork that starts that section
- the poems; they feel, they hurt, they love

Ms Wagner is a very talented lady with more than one medium of talent.

I thoroughly enjoyed each of these poems. I was going to list a few favorites but can't because I'd have to list them all. Each poem has a line or a verse that seemed to speak directly to me.
This book is a Keeper.

[Mary E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a portal into a human soul with landscapes and lyerics both anguished and divine. Catch your breath at the heights of her poetry and tip-toe through her stunning paintings with their archetypal intensity.
Ms. Wagner's writing is sublime as are her paintings. Her genius shakes us to our core and reverberates there long after. This book is an experience in ultra-consciousness which every serious reader can aspire to.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good collection of poetry. I didn't love it as much as I have loved some of the other poetry collections I have read this year. It is broken into five sections called Desire and Memory, Un/Natural Phenomena, Poems in Which I Speak Frankly, God, the Great Avoider, and Learning to See in Three Dimensions. My favorite section was Poems in Which I Speak Frankly. Some of my favorite poems in the collection were: "Mosaic," "State Property," "We Have Come Into the World to Sing," "Natural Phenomena," "Tooth and Claw," "Forgetting to Remember," "Menses," "The Rape of the Hug," "Dream Fragment 1," "Doubting," "Poem for Reginald, Christmas 1985," and "Helen." I also enjoyed the pictures throught the collection. They helped to illustrate the poems.