The Blue Dress

by Alison Townsend

In this quiet, clear-eyed collection, Townsend meditates on loss—childhood bereavement, depression, divorce—to arrive at the realization that it is through loss that we come to possess some of life’s most profound gifts. "The project of Alison Townsend’s poetry is to chart a course through the deepest of losses—to attempt some safe passage through a lifetime’s erasures. Intimate, warm and observant, this book involves us in the inscription of a life."—Mark Doty Alison Townsend was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and spent her childhood in North Salem, New York. She received a B.A. at Marlboro College in Vermont, an M.A. at Claremont Graduate School in California, and an M.F.A. at Vermont College in Mont-pelier. She teaches at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater.

Genres: Poetry

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Alison Townsend teaches English, creative writing and women's studies at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. A walker, hiker, and gardener, she lives with her husband on four acres of prairie and oak savanna in the farm country outside Madison.

Reviews

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are two reasons that I initially decided to read this book. One is that it was recommended to me by Goodreads based on what I had read before. One is just a tiny bit more personal, but I am very glad that I read it based on either reason.

I don't know how much I can say about this volume or how well I can say it... So I will try to speak with as few words as possible.

This is - hands down - one of the best meditations on loss and the process of grief that I have ever read. I feel priviledged to have been given this glimpse inside of a life. And even more astounded to see a talent within that can make something so personal resonate so strongly. This is an amazing voice. I am ashamed that I was without it for so long and I look forward to reading much much more.

[Gerry LaFemina · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this mixed collection of prose poems and poems, the emphasis might be on the prose--more precisely the proseyness of so many of these pieces--poems and prose poems alike. There's a lot of anecdote and exposition, and although the stories told are often compelling/sad/emotional, the language and the diction rarely surprise, leaving just the stories to do the work.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

you

who had been
my lexicon of the body,
you who made language bloom again

like blood-red peonies in my brain.



The first section was the strongest--a five--while the rest lost momentum in language and surprise.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 3/4 stars

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally I got this because. Well...The title. I did not know where the tittle would fall in this book of Poetry. It is a wonderful book of Poems about her life with it's ups and downs . In the end you think of your own, knowing we are mortals with lives full of struggles and beautiful moments we will never forget. When I finally read the tittle poem "The Blue Dress" it brought tears to my eyes. It was not what I anticipated. I will read it again

[Jessica Gleason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is heartfelt and inspirational. It is something that I share with poetry lovers... time and time again. I've gone back to read it quite a few times. Alison has a wonderful talent.

[Amy Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of a whole family is packed into these poems, and of one woman's hope. Beautifully done.