Mystery of Meteors

by Eleanor Lerman

Brilliant comeback after 25 years for an inaugural Juniper Prize-winner.

Genres: Poetry

64 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2001

About the author

Eleanor Lerman is a writer who lives in New York. Her first book of poetry, Armed Love (Wesleyan University Press, 1973), published when she was twenty-one, was nominated for a National Book Award. She has since published four other award-winning collections of poetry—Come the Sweet By and By (University of Massachusetts Press, 1975); The Mystery of Meteors (Sarabande Books, 2001); Our Post-Soviet History Unfolds (Sarabande Books, 2005); and The Sensual World Re-Emerges (Sarabande Books, 2010), along with The Blonde on the Train (Mayapple Press, 2009) a collection of short stories. She was awarded the 2006 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets and the Nation magazine for the year's most outstanding book of poetry for Our Post-Soviet History Unfolds and received a 2007 Poetry Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2011 she received a Guggenheim Fellowship. Her first novel, Janet Planet, based on the life of Carlos Castaneda, was published by Mayapple Press in 2011. Her latest collection of poetry, Strange Life,was published by Mayapple in 2015. Since then, her novel, Radiomen (The Permanent Press, 2016) was awarded the John W. Campbell Prize for the Best Book of Science Fiction. Her next novel, The Stargazer's Embassy, was released in July 2017. Her most recent novel, Satellite Street, will be released in October 2019.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found Eleanor Lerman many years ago on the Poetry Daily web site, two poems, and I loved both of them. So for once in my life I bought a book of poetry based on the Poetry Daily web site. It didn't disappoint me. Almost every poem in the collection is perfect. Lerman incorporates science into her work, something that I love. This technique can go either way. Sometimes it falls flat. In her case I feel that it works magnificently.

The poetry is obviously borne out of her life experience. She has a dog, a little dog, who figures largely into the narrative thread that weaves through the collection. Her imagery is compelling and while the work is a bit confessional, there is nothing confessed that could be embarrassing. Some poets go too far, but Lerman exercises beautiful restraint, giving just enough for the reader to feel that exquisite breath at the end of a poem.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this collection was a bit inconsistent for me, the pieces I loved I loved fiercely. Most notably the title poem, The Mystery of Meteors, and Tornado Days.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection explores the big questions of life—How human are we? Which connections will be broken? Which promises will endure? Where are the best places in this city to buy table wine and sturdy shoes?—with incisive wit, studied erudition, and hilarious humor.

Favorite Poems:
“Flora Street”
“Blue Skies, Indiana”
“Physics”

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25

[Kristen Northrup · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel guilty or vaguely inadequate when poetry doesn't do it for me. The published, well-reviewed kind, that is. I bought this because I really enjoyed the follow-up volume (Our Post-Soviet History Unfolds), but this wasn't nearly as enchanting. The first two-thirds, that is. At 'Blue Skies, Indiana' forward, it turned into what I remembered. So I guess my lesson is to look forward for her next book, but to not bother with the two that came before this one.