The Absence of Knowing by Matthew Henriksen

by Matthew Henriksen

Poetry. A girl laughs like the birds and rides a bicycle into "horizons sinking slowly on their centers," despite or in spite of the the chaos around her. In Matt Henriken's stirring follow-up to his debut, ORDINARY SUN, he writes with an uninhibited resolve to explore intimate, everyday struggles and capture their reality in amber. Brokenness, anger, and the light of innocence power the poems of THE ABSENCE OF KNOWING. Meanwhile, a new beginning is captured in raw, smoldering, and cathartic expression, leaving an aftermath of aria despite discordant events."

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

First published February 15, 2016

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Every face exists for at least one illusion

Somehow the light turns around
The face becomes a sun
The eyes become a sky

I am saying so directly to you
In your light which is blinking
And burning what will not burn out"

[Donald Armfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the mix of anger, sadness and the everyday struggle there is the other side, like Henriksen says there’s an afterlife in the afterwards wether it’s gentle or not the truth of knowing is what matters. I can relate to the poets struggles here, made me ache but yet I remember what shines now… brighter.

Favorites:
Sweetness and Milk
Ruled by the Absence of Knowing
Clearings
Member Brain
Deflected Light

[Simeon Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Micro-blurb: a lucid slipknot of epistemological tenderness and joy.

[Claire Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

fayetteville poetry <3 "It turns out every sun/ Has been a different sun/ Every sky/ Has lied about continuity"