Kintsugi

by Thomas Meyer

Poetry. LGBT Studies. In KINTSUGI, Thomas Meyer has written an intimate elegy for his partner of nearly four decades. As Robert Kelly observes in his foreword, this is "a text written in and through the very death it mourned." Kintsugi is a Japanese word meaning "golden joinery," and it describes the practice of repairing pottery with gold lacquer. As Kelly suggests, "the very rupture is what is highlighted": Meyer's presence to the loss, in the midst of daily life and its attendant concerns, serves as "the golden line that holds all this together." Likewise, his supple poetic line joins formal lament with the quiet spontaneity of thinking. The result is poetry of deep grief and "Walk into a room. / Not know where I am. / Once it was Love / had me so distracted. / Now it's Death."

Genres: Poetry

65 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational verse: "The curtain lifts and the dead enter | while the living exit. This is what the world is. | A hand held out amidst noise and dust | whose touch is a wide-eyed lifetime."

[Łukasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure beauty.

[Rach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very pretty and heartbreaking

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out committed but soon lost focus and returned to library. 🙁