Whore: Poems

by Sarah Maclay

Whore is haunted by intimations of love as fleeting as it is mysterious, as the poet traces an unraveling in which the sensory world, in all its lush desolation, becomes a mirror of loss. In poems of longing, rapture, heart-wreck, and self- confrontation, when both private and public worlds seem to be on the verge of disintegration, everything is up for questioning and re-examination. Sarah Maclay walks into the shaded areas of canvas, willing to follow the play of light and dark until that which is obscure moves into focus. Even language itself, that great interlocutor of the psyche, begins to lose its stability. In the title poem, the result of a trip to the dictionary in search of another word, its etymology that shocks us into an awareness of the potential for contradiction buried in the very roots of language. With its symbolist undertones and surrealist echoes, this is a poetry of evocation and presence at once tactile and subliminal-a poetry of night.

Genres: Poetry

73 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2004

Reviews

[Aquila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes real and visceral and sometimes dream like. I enjoyed Sarah's voice.

[Tianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

So beautifully written. The poem from which the book was titled was my favorite but it seemed there were poetic surprises around every corner.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost a-fireplace-in-winter worthy.

I learn to suck nourishment / from your flat, ocean breast. (5)

The green fruit hangs like a set of ornaments. (16)

And the wind blows through my mouth / like hair. (26)

the petals [of magnolias] cover the darkness / like lost stars (29)

the freeway of ribs (58)


One of the many reasons I love AWP: this was one of my random purchases, not knowing anything about the author or the press. Just let myself glimpse at the backs of books, particularly by women, and bring some home with me. (from AWP 2010, Denver, I believe)

[MARTINE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah was my speech teacher at fashion college and a bridge of light in the sea of the superficial just before I dropped out. "Whore", like Sarah, is delicately rich and subtly nourishing in its details.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't live up to the expetations I had from the title, however, aside from some abstractions I couldn't figure out, there were some good poems to be found inside.