Little Spells

by Jennifer K. Sweeney

Overview

Poetry. "I am not normally moved by perfection, since I like a little mess in poetry, but when a book achieves the trifecta of truly beautiful balance—precise observation, uncannily accurate words, wildness and depth of heart—it must be as close to perfect as our weird and glorious art can get. Sweeney understands how the profound and the miniscule are interconstitutive qualities of souls and objects in a universe ("Dwarf star with one eye on the moon") and this exploration is inner as well as visible, external. Throughout the book, the speaker is concerned with the continuum of life: from stones and plants and planets, to finches and fire, on to witches and princesses and she honors each form it takes. But at some point, this study of life gives way to the song of one who is heartbroken on the path to creating life. This voice sings and cries in such exquisite expression of anguish that art and life find themselves gazing at each other in shock. What good is perfection when the most precious and longed-for star—the one that guided the years—vanishes from the huge dark sky? Art remains and perhaps it comforts as it triumphs here. Sweeney is dazzling—if that matters. I think it does. I am abnormally moved by the perfection of this art. I am crushed by it."—Brenda Shaughnessy

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936970339
Publisher:	New Issues Poetry and Prose
Publication date:	03/01/2015
Series:	Green Rose Prize
Pages:	95
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

JENNIFER K. SWEENEY is the author of three books of poetry: Little Spells, How to Live on Bread and Music (Perugia Press, James Laughlin Award winner), and Salt Memory. The recipient of a Pushcart Prize, her poems have appeared widely, including: The Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day series, American Poetry Review, New American Writing, Pleiades, Poetry Daily, Southern Review, and Verse Daily. She lives in California with her husband, poet Chad Sweeney, and their sons, Liam and Forest.

What People are Saying About This

Brenda Shaughnessy

“I am not normally moved by perfection, since I like a little mess in poetry, but when a book achieves the trifecta of truly beautiful balance—precise observation, uncannily accurate words, wildness and depth of heart—it must as close to perfect as our weird and glorious art can get. Sweeney understands how the profound and the miniscule are interconstitutive qualities of souls and objects in a universe (“Dwarf star with one eye on the moon”) and this exploration is inner as well as visible, external. Throughout the book, the speaker is concerned with the continuum of life: from stones and plants and planets, to finches and fire, on to witches and princesses and she honors each form it takes. But at some point, this study of life gives way to the song of one who is heartbroken on the path to creating life. This voice sings and cries in such exquisite expression of anguish that art and life find themselves gazing at each other in shock. What good is perfection when the most precious and longed-for star—the one that guided the years— vanishes from the huge dark sky? Art remains and perhaps it comforts as it triumphs here. Sweeney is dazzling—if that matters. I think it does. I am abnormally moved by the perfection of this art. I am crushed by it.”

Editorial Reviews

The world created by Jennifer K. Sweeney in her third book of poetry, Little Spells, is a gorgeous hybrid of real and imagined, fantastic and mundane, natural and man-made. These are not necessarily juxtaposed against one another but are, rather, blended together to create a language that is at once terrifyingly dark and delicately magical.”—Kelsey Pratto, TAB

From the Publisher