Torn by Ene Mihkelson , Mari Kaljuste (review)

Abstract

"I havea heartpierced bya rib./ Fragments ofglassfloat through my blood/ and cloudshiddenbehind white cells." ForNikolaMadzirov, to separatefrom one'sself, tobe alone - in order tocommit oneself toair,fire, stars, andangels - meansthereturn home, toearth, tothose ancient habitatsthatpreserve theremnants of bygone ages. Bojana Stojanovic Pantovic University ofNovi Sad Ashley AnnaMcHugh.Into These Knots. Lanham, Maryland. Ivan R.Dee. 2010.68 pages.$22.50.isbn 978-156663 -878-4 The New Criterion PoetryPrize was established in 1999to recognize "manuscripts thatpay close attention to form."AshleyAnna McHugh's Into These Knots, the2009 winningmanuscript, pays close attention notonly toform butalsoto depth ofemotion andcomplex metaphor .McHughmakesgooduseof severalpoeticforms in thiscollection ,amongthemthesonnet, sestina ,and rhymed quatrain. Rather than allowing prosody todictate her poetics, McHughmakestheforms bend to her purposes.Moreover, thepoetdoesso (inmostinstances) withsubtlety and grace.McHugh's mastery ofform rarely falters, and whenit does,one wondersifperhaps thefailure is intentional. For instance,in the pantoum "Sure Enough,"therhymes are predictable and therhythm pedestrian - a major departure from thesubtlety of therest ofthebook.However, since "SureEnough"is botha drinking songanda lost-love lament, perhaps thecountry-music rhyme scheme is appropriate after all. Anotherdelightthesepoems offer is thatthepoet'swordchoice andsyntax arelushandrich; every word seems necessary and exact. Whileall thesevirtuesmightbe expected ofa formalist incommand ofherart, whatislessexpected isthe rangeofevents, characters, andcircumstances towhich sheappliesher impressive gift ofversification. The collection includes several challenges and responses to religious feelingwritten ina contemporary voice but witha tonefamiliar to those whoreadtheMetaphysical poetsof theseventeenth century (although McHughoften quotesDante).There are poems thatexpress,fromthe inside,thestruggle againstmental illnessand thelureof suicide.A father's hunting accident istreated in three separate poems,eachoneless desperately searching foranswers thanthelast;theunconnected series movesemotionally fromshock,to prayer and disbelief, toa profound acceptance ofmortality. Themostcompelling section of thebook is an interrelated series of sonnetsand coupletsentitled "Cairns.""Cairns"foldstogether a hikeon theMonongahela Trail, cairnsthatmarkbothland mines and forks in thetrail, and a son's burden ofguilt for hisfather's death. Itisimpossible heretofully describe thepowerful intertwining of trails takenand not taken,choicesand theirrepercussions, thatMcHugh bindstogether in thisseries; nevertheless itis possibletorecommend readingthe collectionagain and again.IntoThese Knots is a remarkable book,even moreremarkable becauseitisAshley AnnaMcHugh's first full-length volume.It should puttorest anylingering question of whether formal poetry is adequate to expresscontemporary thought andemotion. Jeanetta Calhoun Mish Oklahoma City University Ene Mihkelson. Torn.MariKaljuste, ill.Tallinn, Estonia. Varrak. 2010.102 pages. €1 1.25. isbn 978-9985-3-2091-4 Secondonlyto thelateJaanKross and alongsideMatsTraat,thecreatorof a lengthy ruralseries,Ene Mihkelson(b. 1944) is the most prominent contemporary Estonian novelist. Mihkelson's elevencollectionsof free-verse poetryand six tensely interwoven novels constitute a new,Mihkelsonian highliterature. Last year,Mihkelson received the BalticAssembly literary prize forTorn (Thetower). Hercollection ofpoemsamounts toa poeticcoda, a "tetrastic" following her noveltriptych NimeVaev(Thetorment of a name),Ahaveeruse uni(Thesleep ofAhasuerus), and Katkuhaud (The plaguegrave;see WLT,July 2008, 67). Torndisplaysthe same seriousattitude , anguish, andsorrow to which rich experience givesrise, and offers harshcriticism ofcontemporary life.Butunliketherather dark 74 1 World Literature Today introspection thatlies at theheart ofMihkelson's previous work, Torn evokesa stimulating opennessto theworld. Mihkelson's poemsarecrystallized outlinesof prose narratives concernedwith pressing social issues:a constant worry aboutthe persistence ofnational identity and moral memory, theenduring, loomingdangerofa cultural holocaust: "Onlywe keepspeaking a strange worn out / languagewhen one shouldsaydirectly Putyourself in prison /Establish censorship Do not cheer before evening /TheNight of theLongKnivesmaycomeagain" (from "Retreat intotower").Those whoignore thetorments ofbygone totalitarianism areat riskoflosing their soul: "Butwe mustspeakof pain to cut off/ theglorification ofvictimhood" (from "WhenGeneralLaidonerorderedtheopening ofborders"). Mihkelson's poeticsresembles thetechnique ofEstonian composer Arvo Part'stintinnabuli: the more distance tohitmusic, thecloser toa symphony. Hertexts arenotmetrical yetare composedwithutmost precision. Each and everyphrase is important in its analytic difference ,displaying distinct pausesand stresses. Shemakesfrequent use of enjambment: a regulartransmission betweentwo versesas well as semantic crossovers insidesingle lines - the internal enjambment. Withitsstyleofdignified thought units, Torn is likethepoetichadron accelerator of cern (to whichshe refers in herbook),creating collisionsofmotives andphrases on its magnetic memory field: someofthe particles willbe tornapart,others infused with hope. "Theinitial ideawastheimpossibility ofclosure," thepoetrevealed in an interview. The finalcycleof the book bears the title"Caspar Hauser" - a reference to thesatire byJakob Wassermann (1908)about an autistic foundling withhis private languagewho had spenthis entirechildhoodin a darkprison towerbeforethe "humane"societydecidedto "civilize"him.On behalf ofherself andherhomeland, Mihkelson posessarcastic questions, suchas: "How togrowout / from thecocoonofbeinga victim andto saythat itwas /wrong tosparemy life...