Countdown

by Carol Satyamurti

The central theme of Carole Satyamurti's new collection is the shifting relationship between loss and gain. It explores the varied ways in which that relationship is played out in day-to-day experience. The poems range from personal to the political, the psychological to the scientific, many addressing the human cost of war and terror, most notably in 'Memorial', written after a visit to Oradour-sur-Glane, the still desolate French village where six hundred innocent people were massacred in 1944. A sense of the transience and fragility of life runs through all the poems - whether it is life cut short prematurely, or the natural process of ageing. And under that is the profound mystery of time itself - how are we to conceive of it? How can we best live within its inexorable constraints? And how can we engage with it in language? The poems address these questions with both seriousness and humour, as well as bringing to bear a sharp eye for detail.

71 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2011

Reviews

[b · Rating 5 out of 5]

why is no one talking about this collection??

[J.S. Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong and moving collection, meditating upon and considering life, humanity, decay and loss. There are some striking and powerful poems here. My favourite is Memorial, which contrasts the child-friendly rhythm of the nursery rhyme "The House That Jack Built" with the horrors of the 1944 massacre of the French village of Oradour and the desolate and rust-stained museum/memorial the ruined village has since become.

Some poems are intensely personal, some are political, all are enticingly constructed and resonate with the transitory nature of life.