Where She Always Was

by Frannie Lindsay, J.D. McClatchy (Foreword)

In his foreword, McClatchy speaks of the musical qualities of Lindsay's work: "It is impossible, reading her poems, not to hear a musical hand at work. This is not just a matter of delicacy or virtuosity. It is also a matter of knowing how to phrase a line. . . . Lindsay moves from detail to trope with utter poise, with an intuitive sense of what to sustain or emphasize. Her language is crisp. I can pick a stanza at random . . . and praise its plosive energy, its modulated vowels, its variety and élan . . . Where She Always Was allows us . . . the rare gratification of watching a poet-wonderfully accomplished, quietly persuasive-look back on a lifetime's worth of emotions and calculate their bearing on the present. In her craft is the truth."

Genres: Poetry

84 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[꧁ ꕥ James ꕥ ꧂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lindsay has such a musical quality to her poetry and she really knows how to phrase a stanza well.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent work. Here is one example:

Should This Become Ordinary
by Frannie Lindsay

I barely remember the woman
to weak to go on
carrying her baby,

setting him down
in the trench of the burning road
to rest on the sleeve

wilted off her kimono, then
pressing his head
with one caked hand

against a twig of exposed rib
to feed
the last of the milk

her breast could send
to his patient, gray mouth.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many great poems in this book. Mostly about her mother and dog, but there are more jewels than dudes in this one and that always equals a good book of poetry.

[Merinde]

not bad, but the only one I found memorable was the Midas poem.