"Sometimes you read poetry. And sometimes you're struck by it. Warm words describe cold subjects in Kissing in Iceland, where the darker side of life and love are presented in Eliza Locke's brilliant writing style. She gives us glimpses into a world we may never actually visit, but will surely feel as if we've been there. It's beautiful and cutting and edgy, with illustrations by Kelly Carmody that are powerfully subtle." -- Lucy Spinetti, Boston Literary Magazine
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By bastnakt
Dec 2, 2009
Kissing in Iceland, a book of poems by Eliza Locke and illustrated by Kelly Carmody, is a series of quiet revelations. The poems read like excerpts from a novel, with the hint of fully realized characters who have a sudden flash of insight as to who they are and what is happening to them. The title of William S Burroughs' 'Naked Lunch' came from his friend Jack Kerouac. The Poet of Lowell read Burrough's untitled manuscript and described it as a Naked Lunch - a frozen moment where everyone realizes what's at the end of their forks. Locke's poems, written mostly in first person, describe frozen moments where someone suddenly understands the truth of their own existence. The poems read like commentaries on actual experiences. Some of the experiences sound searing and panful, others are tender and joyful. There are just enough details to allow a mental picture, or trigger one's own memories. There is a sense of relentless honesty, which gives the whole book an integrity and authenticity.... More > The theme of the book is love. Love at many stages, from a beginning glance, to the days of bliss and passion, to the moment when it is gone and will never come back. There is a melancholy in the words. Even with the poems of lovers entwined, there is sense these are fleeting moments. Many of them seem to take place in a hotel room. The only images of domesticity describe the end of a relationship. Homes exist only long enough to fall apart. Real home is the cons tant movement. The only constant is the ceaseless flow and change. Kelly Carmody's illustrations, so spare they suggest doodles in a margin compliment the poems perfectly. Both words and images have sparseness that have just enough to suggest what is happening, then allow the reader's emotions to fill them in.< Less
Eliza Locke has a confidence and yet a vulnerability to her writing. She wields a potent quill with poems that evoke powerful imagery and emotion in such a way as to make her seem familiar as family yet as mysterious and seductive as a stranger glanced upon from across a room. Carmody's illustrations lend a touching air to each work. This compilation will take you on a journey around the world and under your skin. Just amazing.
