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The Bride of E
Poems by the author of Elegy, Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry
The goblet mouth on the table speaks
To your thirst, saying, Longing, your longing, is infinite.
-from "H Is Here Is a Song, Now Sing"
In her sixth collection, The Bride of E, Mary Jo Bang uses a distinctive mix of humor and directness to sound the deepest sort of anguish: the existential condition. Timeless yet tirelessly inventive, Bang fashions her examination of the lived life into an abecedarius that is as rapturous in its language and music as it is affecting in its awareness of--and yearning for--what isn't there. The title of the first poem, "ABC Plus E: Cosmic Aloneness Is the Bride of Existence," posits the collection's central problem, and a symposium of figures from every register of our culture (from Plato to Pee-wee Herman, Mickey Mouse to Sartre) is assembled to help confront it. Riddled with insight, pathos, and wit, The Bride of E is a brilliant new work by one the most compelling poets of our time.
The goblet mouth on the table speaks
To your thirst, saying, Longing, your longing, is infinite.
-from "H Is Here Is a Song, Now Sing"
In her sixth collection, The Bride of E, Mary Jo Bang uses a distinctive mix of humor and directness to sound the deepest sort of anguish: the existential condition. Timeless yet tirelessly inventive, Bang fashions her examination of the lived life into an abecedarius that is as rapturous in its language and music as it is affecting in its awareness of--and yearning for--what isn't there. The title of the first poem, "ABC Plus E: Cosmic Aloneness Is the Bride of Existence," posits the collection's central problem, and a symposium of figures from every register of our culture (from Plato to Pee-wee Herman, Mickey Mouse to Sartre) is assembled to help confront it. Riddled with insight, pathos, and wit, The Bride of E is a brilliant new work by one the most compelling poets of our time.
- GenresPoetry
112 pages, Hardcover
First published September 29, 2009
About the author
Mary Jo Bang
36 books89 followersMary Jo Bang is an American poet. In her most recent collection, The Bride of E, she uses a distinctive mix of humor, directness, and indirection, to sound the deepest sort of anguish: the existential condition. Bang fashions her examination of the lived life into an abecedarius—the title of the first poem, "ABC Plus E: Cosmic Aloneness Is the Bride of Existence," posits the collection's central problem, and a symposium of figures from every register of our culture (from Plato to Pee-wee Herman, Mickey Mouse to Sartre) is assembled to help confront it.
Bang is the author of five previous books of poetry: Apology for Want, Louise in Love, The Downstream Extremity of the Isle of Swans, The Eye Like a Strange Balloon and Elegy, which won the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry and was named a 2008 New York Times Notable Book. She’s been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University. She has an M.F.A. from Columbia University, an M.A. and B.A. in Sociology from Northwestern University, and a B.A. in Photography from the Polytechnic of Central London. From 1995-2005 she was the poetry co-editor at Boston Review. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri, where she is a Professor of English and teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Washington University.
Bang is the author of five previous books of poetry: Apology for Want, Louise in Love, The Downstream Extremity of the Isle of Swans, The Eye Like a Strange Balloon and Elegy, which won the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry and was named a 2008 New York Times Notable Book. She’s been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University. She has an M.F.A. from Columbia University, an M.A. and B.A. in Sociology from Northwestern University, and a B.A. in Photography from the Polytechnic of Central London. From 1995-2005 she was the poetry co-editor at Boston Review. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri, where she is a Professor of English and teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Washington University.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 29, 2010
Check out my review on Coldfront:
http://coldfrontmag.com/reviews/the-b...
http://coldfrontmag.com/reviews/the-b...
February 6, 2010
Couldn't stay in. Tried. Wanted to.
It's a music I'm not used to, that's certain.
The short lines and sudden turns kept bumping me off the page.
Sense of failure.
It's a music I'm not used to, that's certain.
The short lines and sudden turns kept bumping me off the page.
Sense of failure.
February 16, 2010
I'm sure there's a lot to like here, but mostly this book reminded me how tied I am to the phrase; Bang, at least in this book, leaves the phrase behind in place of a lot of fragments that seem backed up against each other like cars at an intersection, and about as happily. The stop-start of these poems, then, made them hard for me to enjoy.
I think the effect, of dislocation and displeasure, is political, and a lot of these poems sort of roil and bubble with what feel to me like recriminations about the war on terror. I can't say for sure, but my hunch is that Bang and I are on the same side of this, and I recognize that there are certain circumstances that you need to talk about without glorifying into pretty song-- this book contains a lot of those moments. But I felt, too, like this isn't quite what I come to poetry for, and that if I want to be punished by words, I'll do it by reading the paper.
A book of great integrity, but kind of a slog, like all good people living in bad times.
I think the effect, of dislocation and displeasure, is political, and a lot of these poems sort of roil and bubble with what feel to me like recriminations about the war on terror. I can't say for sure, but my hunch is that Bang and I are on the same side of this, and I recognize that there are certain circumstances that you need to talk about without glorifying into pretty song-- this book contains a lot of those moments. But I felt, too, like this isn't quite what I come to poetry for, and that if I want to be punished by words, I'll do it by reading the paper.
A book of great integrity, but kind of a slog, like all good people living in bad times.
April 24, 2010
I was initially inclined to dislike these post-Ashbery poems but in actuality Bang has a talent for the riveting image which while disconnected in the "language" poetry motif still energizes some of her poems so they are in the whole effective. She is of course idolized by the academic coterie that flogs the idea of "accessibility"--Billy Collins is their bete noire but nonetheless she is heads above most of that crowd.
September 7, 2023
i struggled with this collection--it felt terse & loosely associative & far too preoccupied with the emptying out of its own referents. nothing lingered for long. many breathtaking lines feel buried under the relative noise of the collection--they can't take the breath on account of not being able to breathe. i have found bang's earlier & later work more lapidary. maybe i just don't like the kind of poem that weasels its way into pop culture figures for their blissful blankness. i'm glad the cake was left out in macarthur park though--always a stunning line. & bang remains uncontested in her ability to clinch a poem. "After the fall. The terrible empty room." mwah
October 28, 2020
the prose poem "G Is Going" beat me until i could only resign on my stool, in the sweat drenched corner of the ring, 12 humiliating rounds already on the scorecards and decidedly not in my favor, spitting "no mas" the only counterpunch i hadn't yet attempted
July 2, 2018
The body as document burning in an ashtray
August 30, 2023
I'm sorry, I really hated this entire collection. I couldn't find a single poem or even a single passage I cared about. I'm sure it's over my head, but it's a personal big ol' NOPE for me.
March 22, 2010
Mary Jo Bang’s amazing new collection of poetry, The Bride Of E, is vivid with haunting images. The poems in the first part of the book follow their lead from the alphabet, beginning with “ABC Plus E: Cosmic Aloneness Is The Bride Of Existence.” This disturbingly truthful poem is anything but simple. It mirrors the loneliness one can feel even in large crowds. This is just one example of the rich, thought-provoking poetry within this slim volume.
The poem “For Freud” begins with an exquisite sentence: “I didn’t mean to imply a girl is nothing more than a jewel box.” Volumes could be written on this statement alone. For a woman who grew up in a generation that expected women to be jewel boxes, “For Freud” is validation of a war fought to shed clinging expectations of society that all girls should marry a "good man" and become a mother. A new breed of independent women emerged from this battleground.
The Bride Of E is Mary Jo Bang’s examination into lived life. Some stanzas shine light into the dark shadowy corners of forgotten longings:
The bells are ringing, indicating
An original longing has been transformed
Into a pitch too high to hear.
This language encourages the reader to observe their surroundings with an artist’s eye.
Bang reveals our diverse world by splicing together images of college kids partying at a club, highbrow literary references, and even descriptions of a time to come. While there are hints of traditional romance, the poet has no problem throwing in a fragment of information technology or an impression of violence. The underlying message found in these poems is philosophy on a large plasma screen.
The second part of The Bride Of E consists of five prose poems that lend a hopeful note to the brutal honesty of part one. This is a collection I will take off my shelf to re-read and experience the life lessons waiting inside the cover.
Review by Ann Hite
The poem “For Freud” begins with an exquisite sentence: “I didn’t mean to imply a girl is nothing more than a jewel box.” Volumes could be written on this statement alone. For a woman who grew up in a generation that expected women to be jewel boxes, “For Freud” is validation of a war fought to shed clinging expectations of society that all girls should marry a "good man" and become a mother. A new breed of independent women emerged from this battleground.
The Bride Of E is Mary Jo Bang’s examination into lived life. Some stanzas shine light into the dark shadowy corners of forgotten longings:
The bells are ringing, indicating
An original longing has been transformed
Into a pitch too high to hear.
This language encourages the reader to observe their surroundings with an artist’s eye.
Bang reveals our diverse world by splicing together images of college kids partying at a club, highbrow literary references, and even descriptions of a time to come. While there are hints of traditional romance, the poet has no problem throwing in a fragment of information technology or an impression of violence. The underlying message found in these poems is philosophy on a large plasma screen.
The second part of The Bride Of E consists of five prose poems that lend a hopeful note to the brutal honesty of part one. This is a collection I will take off my shelf to re-read and experience the life lessons waiting inside the cover.
Review by Ann Hite
June 4, 2012
I picked up this book because Mary Jo Bang came to visit my university a couple years ago and I was interested by her poem "B is for Beckett." I've found through reading this book that her metaphors and imagery are complex and sometimes difficult to follow, but so rich that you don't mind holding on and going for a ride. I thought that it was a clever idea to write an abecedarian type book, and it's an idea that I might want to use for my Poem-A-Day Project. Overall really neat and worth the read. Nearly devoured in two Amtrak trips.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews