Now Is the Hour of Her Return: Poems in Praise of the Divine Mother Kali

by Clark Strand

“A treasure of mystical poetry, these poems pulsate with truth.” —Carolyn Myss, author of Intimate Conversations with the Divine and Anatomy of the Spirit

In the early hours of June 16, 2011, Clark Strand witnessed a startling apparition of the Divine Feminine in the form of a young woman with an X of black electrical tape over Her mouth. Strand removed the tape, and She began to speak of a coming age of chaos and collapse in which the world of humankind would be severely chastened so that Her world—the world of Nature—could be renewed. Overwhelmed by the presence of One so fully Other, Strand found that love was the only language that would suffice. Drawing inspiration from Song of Songs and the Bengali mystics Ramprasad and Sri Ramakrishna, he began a series of poems to Ma Kali, the Dark Goddess of India, the words to which often came from the Great Mother Herself.

Genres: Poetry

84 pages, Paperback

Published July 22, 2020

Reviews

[Frida · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

I received an eARC copy from Monkfish Book Publishing via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

This poetry collection and its premise gave an intimate introduction to the author's encounter with the Divine Feminine, the Goddess of Goddesses, and the conversations they had on multiple occasions. While having an air of mysticism and eroticism, these poems left me more confused and indecisive than they answered any questions and doubts I had before I started reading them. I wanted to sense Her presence through the written word, to feel Her light and reach some catharsis by the time I reached the end, but that never came to me. Perhaps some other time and circumstances will allow me to come closer to Ma Kali; this time was not the one.

[Eule Luftschloss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure what I think about this, which makes it even harder than it normally is to write a review about a collection of poetry.

In the afterword, the author writes they had a vision and first thought it is the Christian Virgin Mary, but then found out that the entity they were in contact with is in fact Kali.
I do not want to comment on that in any way. Yes it sounds weird, but not weirder than other stories about personal belief. What did take me back was that this poetry collection is by a white guy who is a buddhist, if I got the right Wikipedia page.
But I am white myself and... just don't know what to think about that. I wanted to mention it here, though.

The first part of the poems is very based in erotic scenery and it's just not my cup of tea.
Overall I liked the imagery, of having this contact with an eternal being that laughs about notions of propriety, how a goddess has to look. I got the sense that the narrator has been raised Christian and lives in a mostly Christian environment.

I still think I'd like to read more about Kali, and poetry might not be a bad format for that, but I am not sure I got what I wanted here.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

[Sparrow .]

Creation is also disruptive. When God invented the world, S/He destroyed something else – we know not what – something harmonious, I imagine. Kali, the goddess of destruction, also governs bloody birth. Clark knows; he’s met her many times.

Opening at random:

These White Daughters of Mine,
They keep busy with the
Living, don’t get Me wrong.
But what a mess they leave
To clean up. I can’t tell you
How often I’ve tried to birth
A Black One into their world.

[Erin Perry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t finish it, props to this guy for being passionate but his work just didn’t resonate with me

[Laurie AH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing poems, raw