A friend of mine who is also a writer, poet, editor and constant learner recommended the poet Diane Seuss. Of course, my kid self said, SEUSS? Well that’s a hoot. And I am sure she is tired of people asking and/or joking about it, so I’ll just leave that there and talk about Wolf Lake, White Gown Blown Open: Poems (Juniper Prize for Poetry) instead.
And I’m not really sure what to say about things. It has a unique modern voice with obvious classical influences, there are no illustrations, many poems are contemporary subjects but also have a timeless quality to them. I thought at first she was a poet of the 1960s and one who wrote about womanhood, sexuality, and social themes. And she might have had some influences from the 1960s but she is from later in the 20th and 21st centuries.
All though many poems of Suess’ I was able to understand every word said, I was not sure what the meanings were. They felt abstract, disconnected and yet, very plain. I was not sure what I was feeling while reading, and afterwards. A review about this book says “(i)n these fractured, yet lyrical, narratives and voices,” therefore, I feel that others have had similar experinces and it takes a little time to find the groove and flow. It took several weeks to get through what should have been a quick read as the book is not terribly long. Mostly set in traditional formats, there are some experimental ones, too. There was some debatable questionable language used, or imagery given, but that is just who this poet is.
And I found this particular collection (from 2010) through an interlibrary loan. I also purchased another collection, Modern Poetry: Poems (from 2024) as I wanted to experiment with different years and times in their writing journey. I will try and read Modern soon, but I’m not sure how I’ll feel. I do like the cover though whereas Wolf Lake did nothing for me.