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New Directions Poetry Pamphlet #4
Pneumatic Antiphonal
Part of our revived "Poetry Pamphlets" series, Pneumatic Antiphonal is a fun, humming, bio-physiological word-whizzing flight into birdsong penned by young Canadian poet, Sylvia Legris ― her first publication in the U.S. Part of our revived "Poetry Pamphlets" series, Pneumatic Antiphonal is a fun, humming, bio-physiological word-whizzing flight into birdsong penned by young Canadian poet, Sylvia Legris ― her first publication in the U.S. An The theory of corpuscular flight is the cardinal premise
of red birds carrying song-particles carrying oxygen.
Erythrocytic. Sticky. Five quarts of migration.
of red birds carrying song-particles carrying oxygen.
Erythrocytic. Sticky. Five quarts of migration.
- GenresPoetry
48 pages, Paperback
First published January 17, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 3, 2015
Take one volume of the Brittanica on bird physiology; one volume on respiration; one volume on romanticism. Chop coarsely and combine in a pudding bowl. Serve warm.
When people say they don't like poetry, I imagine books like this are what they have in mind. What to do with lines like
"Seaside is obsessive syneresis/ ... glairy/ like the white of an egg. Breath tripping up in a slippery dipthong./ The causeway a separation of sun and albumen. Long muscle/ of the neck the line where swash meets swallow. Pool-noodling/ uprush."
Sure, I get it. Legris is bringing new life to the tired bird-song/poetry comparison by mixing in the jargon of physiology, which is full of polysyllabic monstrosities and wonders. But unless you already know the meaning of these fairly obscure words, why on earth would you pick this text up? You're not going to look up every slippery dipthonged marvel, and even if you do, half of the lines are constructed around puns that are infuriating when they're not obscure.
No, if you do come to this, it will be for the same reason that people listen to birdsong: it gives the appearance of intention, but any intended meaning is hidden from us entirely--and there probably isn't any anyway. But it sounds mysterious, otherworldly, just out of our grasp. As more me, I like bird-song just fine. But I *really* like Messiaen's compositions based on bird-song. I like these poems, but like poems that mean something more.
When people say they don't like poetry, I imagine books like this are what they have in mind. What to do with lines like
"Seaside is obsessive syneresis/ ... glairy/ like the white of an egg. Breath tripping up in a slippery dipthong./ The causeway a separation of sun and albumen. Long muscle/ of the neck the line where swash meets swallow. Pool-noodling/ uprush."
Sure, I get it. Legris is bringing new life to the tired bird-song/poetry comparison by mixing in the jargon of physiology, which is full of polysyllabic monstrosities and wonders. But unless you already know the meaning of these fairly obscure words, why on earth would you pick this text up? You're not going to look up every slippery dipthonged marvel, and even if you do, half of the lines are constructed around puns that are infuriating when they're not obscure.
No, if you do come to this, it will be for the same reason that people listen to birdsong: it gives the appearance of intention, but any intended meaning is hidden from us entirely--and there probably isn't any anyway. But it sounds mysterious, otherworldly, just out of our grasp. As more me, I like bird-song just fine. But I *really* like Messiaen's compositions based on bird-song. I like these poems, but like poems that mean something more.
August 1, 2013
I con't believe how "appropriate" this book of poetry was for me. It's all about, and uses the language and vocabulary of, birds and breathing, two subjects very close to me since I've been a birdwatcher from fourth grade and have worked as a respiratory therapist for over 40 years. It's also quite good as poetry goes, although I'm sure some readers, more distant from these topics than I am, would label it obscure. As for me, I can't wait to read it again, which I will begin to do promptly, even if it is overdue.
March 2, 2023
A bombardment of technical terminology, while potentially linguistically striking, does not great poetry make—at least, not on its own. The language in this collection is indeed captivating for those of us who indulge and luxuriate in the richness of the English tongue, but beyond the barrage of biological, physiological, and ornithological jargon, there isn’t much else present to distinguish poetry from what could essentially be quick field-note jottings. Especially as this style—if it is a style—is maintained throughout the entire pamphlet, the effect is one of obfuscation, and it is hard not to feel as though the initial intrigue one has for the unfamiliar wordings, phrases, and terms has turned into a desensitised apathy for verbal nonsense.
That said, and while that may sound harsh, I think these poems should be read one at a time, and only once in a while. Otherwise, they blend together and become word-soup. Perhaps taken in small doses, the novelty of the language might retain some grip on the parts of our brains that get tickled by fantastic words.
That said, and while that may sound harsh, I think these poems should be read one at a time, and only once in a while. Otherwise, they blend together and become word-soup. Perhaps taken in small doses, the novelty of the language might retain some grip on the parts of our brains that get tickled by fantastic words.
May 16, 2013
Striking language.
August 6, 2016
3 1/2 stars
May 1, 2017
Dense, hermetic, playful, with probings into the language of science, the beauty and zaniness of birdsong, the poems in Sylvia Legris's Pneumatic Antiphonal often bring the work of Will Alexander, Andrew Joron, and Laura Ellen Joyce to mind, fragments from the Alexander's work actually collaged into some of Legris's own.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews