Blood, Hook & Eye

by dara-wier

Very Good Hardcover Austin, University of Texas Press, 1977. First edition, with a personalized inscription signed by the author on the title page. Very good in unevenly faded dustjacket. Red hardcover, 70 pages. Firm text block, clean pages, no other markings. The mylar protected dustjacket is not priceclipped [7.95] and has a sun-faded spine, very little wear, no chips.. Inscribed by The Author. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Momo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dara Wier's debut collection feels, paradoxically, carefully polished and rough hewn. The beautifully written poems show the reader an unflinching view of a hard world with all of its painful edges and its delicate wonders, some difficult and some lovely. I'm struck by the confidence in the voice of this poetic observer in this first book and her short lines and clipped syntax.

[Penrod · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite an interesting first book, filled with delicious writing. I bought it when it first came out more than 40 years ago. I was 22 then and not ready for it. I confess I probably only read 3 or 4 of the poems, maybe also the one dedicated to Richard Dillard called "Life at the Foot of the Dam." Now, however, I am reading a lot of poetry and pulling books off my shelf that have long deserved a second look. BLOOD HOOK & EYE is a terrific collection, well deserving of second, third, and fourth looks. I'm especially enamored of "Midway," "The Contortionist," "One Woman at the Drugstore," and "The Direction to the Left of Sunrise." These gems, fresh to my mind, stimulate and provoke and make me think, "what the hell?" I confess I have trouble following some of the pieces, but they are all little songs that stick in the mind. I love the declarative sentences, the end-stopped lines, and the short, clipped vowels. Oh, I should also state that there are some frankly sexual poems, some of which are rather disturbing. These are the ones I most like: "My Uncle Reads Lips," "If For a Night My Tongue Would Sleep,""You Were in Love," "One Woman and the Lady Medical Assistant."

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some really good stuff here. I occassionally felt the author overeached but she gets kudos for taking chances. Generally pretty enjoyable.