The Daily Glance

Catherine Meng's Tonight's the Night caught me off guard mostly because it was published in 2007, and I've heard little about it. It's a fabulous book complete with a bibliography, discography, and notes--which come before the text. The text consists of poems with a single title, "Tonight's the Night," which cover a variety of themes but repeat phrases and ideas throughout. Since she plays with music in the poems, this repetition seems to relate to musical practices.

The last & tallest gable hit by sun

holds one slender window drawn

so what is real as the day is long is no longer

than the length of this room.

Meng takes a line from Neil Young's "Tonight's the Night" and places it in another context where it becomes enriched by the surrounding lines. Ultimately, the repetition of phrases in the book makes it seem like there is a larger meaning to be found in the book (and perhaps among the connections of the arts) if one really searches.

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