The Diminishing House

by Nicky Beer

In Nicky Beer's The Diminishing House, birds are disemboweled, a father is mourned, and a basement fills with snakes. This first book of resonant lyric poetry meditates on such subjects as animals, art, and anatomy, and transforms the familiar and mundane into something strangely mythic. Beer explores the exhilaration and frustration of living in a sensuous, unstable world filled with grief and desire.

Genres: Poetry

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2010

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many beautiful moments, such as "aphasic moon" (p.30), "my dark unraveling" (p. 31) and "something silver and not yet breath" (p. 58). Every time I re-read a poem, I find another part to like, such as "yoked to a shadow that is not my own" (p. 55). Nicky writes with the precision and sizzle of a cattle brand.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Scapula" is singly handedly the most stunning poem I have read in YEARS and I will take no notes. Truly a stunning collection that I marked up with all the scrumptious lines. Now go get a copy so you can be as emotionally devastated in the best way.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Diminishing House has a basement filled with snakes, a wasp in the kitchen, and rooms that echo softly with the memories stirred with the passing of a father. The book really took off for me with the poem Erosion. Other poems that astounded me and left me breathless were Ouroboros, Stumphumper, Provenance, Midwife/Midsummer, Scapula, and Annual. I cannot wait for Nicky Beer's next book!