A Daily Glance
Sarah Rosenthal’s Manhatten reminds me of Hejinian’s My Life in many ways. The prose poem form for many of the pieces replicates those of My Life, except that Rosenthal’s are less lyrical and more narrative. Rosenthal primarily saves the lyric elements for the short pieces that she intersperses throughout the text. She calls some of them sonnets, but I like to think of all of them that way. The book almost seems like the medieval form in which prose and poetry alternate. Beyond the form, the book concerns the search for identity, though it also focuses on understanding one’s relation to place, Mahatten. The misspelling/respelling is intentional, perhaps to stress one’s personal place or an alternate version of life inside the place. To me the book is fascinating, for while looking at it, I wonder if I'm reading about Rosenthal or a speaker. Did I just get to know her better or am I just connecting with a character? Whatever the answer, it seems appropriate that I drove past Monoxide Island this morning.
Sarah Rosenthal’s Manhatten reminds me of Hejinian’s My Life in many ways. The prose poem form for many of the pieces replicates those of My Life, except that Rosenthal’s are less lyrical and more narrative. Rosenthal primarily saves the lyric elements for the short pieces that she intersperses throughout the text. She calls some of them sonnets, but I like to think of all of them that way. The book almost seems like the medieval form in which prose and poetry alternate. Beyond the form, the book concerns the search for identity, though it also focuses on understanding one’s relation to place, Mahatten. The misspelling/respelling is intentional, perhaps to stress one’s personal place or an alternate version of life inside the place. To me the book is fascinating, for while looking at it, I wonder if I'm reading about Rosenthal or a speaker. Did I just get to know her better or am I just connecting with a character? Whatever the answer, it seems appropriate that I drove past Monoxide Island this morning.
Daily book I wish that I had written
Eunoia
Comments