The Agency of Wind

by Laynie Browne

Poetry. This delightful book, beautifully publsihed by Avec books, follows Browne's REBECCA LETTERS (Kesley St.) and LORE (Instress) with more of her unique lightness of touch and capacious vison. 'Which way to the windmaker's door?/ If you want to know you'll have to ask the doormaker.' A riddling, wind-activated poem describing the transformative adventures of a girl and a crane. Page after page, deckled with light, whistle headfirst into a journey, a conversation, a host of insoluble dilemmas, 'questions swept over a chasm.' THE AGENCY OF WIND yields the imagnative pleasures of a Leonora Carrington painting with the verbal vivacity and exactitude already characteristic of a Laynie Browne.--C.D. Wright. Laynie Browne's pieces of universal udefulness -- poem/stories written for childre/sages, Sumerian lore/from the twenty-third century, profoundly formal/whimsically freeing -- are a particular, innovative delight. -- Stacy Dorris.

Genres: Poetry

125 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1999

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! I enjoyed it in much the same way that I enjoy short stories and novels, but it's not all that prosey. There is a good bit of prose poetry here, but much of the book makes very fragmented, lyrical moves. I was most impressed by the way the book held together across its different sections. The fairy tale imagery gets very, very pretty after a while, but it never gets so precious that I want to stop reading. I am drawn along! I would recommend this book to poets and to my non-poetry reading friends--to all my friends who read juvenile fantasy novels (you know you all do it).

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This earlier work from poet Laynie Browne reads like a fairy tale written for adults. It combines the iconic imagery of classic fairy tales with the playful creativity with which Browne manipulates language to reveal all sorts of layers and dimensions. Be patient with this, and savor each line, each phrase, each word.