Muddy Matterhorn

by Heather McHugh

Heather McHugh’s first book in a decade, Muddy Matterhorn, reclaims the mix of high and low that is her sensibility’s signature, in matters practical and philosophical, semantic and stylistic, mortal and transitory, amorous and political, hilarious and heartbreaking. With fierce attacks on technology and social structures, McHugh finds a way to enjoy and empathize with humanity on her own terms. Ever the outsider, McHugh combines a strong sense of self with a determination to love people and the worlds they build without losing her biting criticism or witty rejection of societal norms and expectations. She is both pragmatic and theorizing, esoteric and identifiable. The joy and anger in these poems join to form an empowered and impassioned declaration of self in a chaotic time.

Genres: Poetry

104 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2020

Reviews

[kate j]

ian gave me this book for my birthday, and even if that hadn’t been the case, i would have read this and thought it was a Very Ian Olson book. mchugh plays with language almost to the point of distraction — her poems overflow with assonance and alliteration and rhymes and half-rhymes. words have double and triple meanings—it’s easy to get lost in the rhythm of a poem and make it all the way through, then stop, because you have absolutely no idea what just happened. the lyrical whimsy, tongue-in-cheek fun, is absolutely fitting as a recommendation from the guy who signed “don’t try and cram / the dog with jam” on my third grade yearbook. that line could be straight out of one of mchugh’s poems—only the dog would be life, maybe, and jam like, technology or something.

i loved a few of these, was indifferent to some others (as w all poetry collections). my biggest fear now is coming up with something smart to say about it so ian still respects me.

[Michelle]

A master of rhyme, rhythm, and wordplay. It was fun to read. A few times it felt like looking at the result of word game, which was interesting but not particularly compelling.

Poetry? Sure. But not the poetry that tends to move me. There were a handful of poems that I did love.

Don't be fooled by the fun and play. It's not an easy read.

Quotes (unformatted)"
"Love fucks its chosen singletons...." (17)

"My passion didn't matter to a soul, and all my craving passion in return was one unholy imposition." (22)

"Moments aren't repeatable. But do endure." (23)

"The man who lost himself—is he the most afflicted? Or the man who's always seeking second selves, the realer ones?" (40)

"Really it's ourselves, unknowable, ourselves we're most blindsided by." (59)

"The dumps I was so down in, after being dumped." (80)

"...they lost the habit of their suffering." (84)

"Nowadays I cannot tell the two apart: can't feel things thoughtlessly or think things up without emotion." (89)

"Do I detect the fool for love again emerging...." (92)

[Rachel Tiebauer]

I don’t think I’m smart enough to appreciate or grasp modern poetry haha.....I always feel like I’ve been dropped alone somewhere unknown and I can’t find my way out.
But that’s a failing with me, this has been an ongoing problem. For smarter/more educated people, I’m sure this poetry collection would be very enjoyable. I liked her rhythm and word combinations at times.

[Kem White]

I took a gamble on this book of poetry based on a positive NYT review. I lost. I need a poet to at least try to meet me halfway. Some of the poems in a collection need to be accessible. This is true for Louise Gluck; it's true for Tracy K. Smith. But not here. In this book, I found them all to be silly jumbles of words, each one a mishmash. I read the first 15 poems. No amount of re-reading of any of them enabled me to glean a message, a story, anything coherent. I gave up after two collections. Not recommended.

[Shawn Aebi]

Rather hard to decode and bounces over a number of subjects. Some very clever sound bites and alliterative phrases but buried in the morass of existential pondering.

[Brian]

I love the care and playfulness that Heather McHugh takes with her verse. It connects on many levels: sound, meaning, emotion, image.

[Sam]

it was fine? I’ll read more of her work in the future but not now

[Eugene]

Reads like a more erudite Billy Collins. Fancier words but no more depth. Is this what gats a “Genius” grant?