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Reviews 2010 > The Clock of the Long Now by Marion Boyer

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message 1: by Kathleen (new)

Kathleen | 143 comments I find this one amazing for its delicate suspension of linear time (as suggested in the title) and its similar language blur. That is, the poems use language on the one hand in clear, accessible ways and then there is slippage, transformation, a sudden new thing altogether. Some of the poems are about this kind of mental/speech loss...the speaker's father, "Moving Day, the Alzheimer's Wing"...and some "clock" such change as it exists in each moment of time.

Then there is the whole section of Jake persona poems, some of which I'd encountered earlier in RHINO and in Boyer's chapbook Green (Finishing Line Press). Will be reviewing/blogging more on this later, but want to recommend it now, as it might be the perfect gift for a poet friend with aging parents.The Clock of the Long Now


message 2: by Sarah (new)

Sarah (sarahj) | 1757 comments Mod
Wonderful title, and I love your description of how the language morphs. Thanks - I'll check this one out.


message 3: by Kathleen (new)

Kathleen | 143 comments There is actually a clock of the long now, ticking away in the desert, and the title poem addresses this. I looked for the science book of the same name where I work...but no luck so far.


message 4: by Sarah (new)

Sarah (sarahj) | 1757 comments Mod
Yes, when I looked up the book I found another with the same title and thought that odd. But that explains it. Here it is: The Clock of the Long Now: Time and Responsibility


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