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New California Poetry
This Connection of Everyone with Lungs: Poems
Part planetary love poem, part 24/7 news flash, the hypnotic poems of "This Connection of Everyone with Lungs "wrap with equal, angular grace around lovers and battleships. These poems hear the tracer fire in a bird's song and capture cell division and troop deployments in the same expansive thought. They move through concentric levels of association and embrace -from the space between the hands to the mesosphere and back again-touching everything in between. The book's focus shifts between local and global, public and private, individual and social. Everything gets in: through all five senses, through windows, between your sheets, under your skin.
86 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2005
19 people are currently reading
637 people want to read
About the author
Juliana Spahr
52 books90 followersJuliana Spahr (born 1969) is an American poet, critic, and editor. She is the recipient of the 2009 Hardison Poetry Prize awarded by the Folger Shakespeare Library to honor a U.S. poet whose art and teaching demonstrate great imagination and daring.
Both Spahr's critical and scholarly studies, i.e., Everybody’s Autonomy: Connective Reading and Collective Identity (2001), and her poetry have shown Spahr's commitment to fostering a "value of reading" as a communal, democratic, open process. Her work therefore "distinguishes itself because she writes poems for which her critical work calls." In addition to teaching and writing poetry, Spahr is also an active editor. Spahr received the National Poetry Series Award for her first collection of poetry, Response (1996).
(from Wikipedia)
Both Spahr's critical and scholarly studies, i.e., Everybody’s Autonomy: Connective Reading and Collective Identity (2001), and her poetry have shown Spahr's commitment to fostering a "value of reading" as a communal, democratic, open process. Her work therefore "distinguishes itself because she writes poems for which her critical work calls." In addition to teaching and writing poetry, Spahr is also an active editor. Spahr received the National Poetry Series Award for her first collection of poetry, Response (1996).
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
October 11, 2022
„We wake up in the night with just each others and admit that even while we believe that we want to believe that we all live in one bed ot the earth’s atmosphere, our bed is just our bed and no one else’s and we can’t figure out how to stop it from being that way.” (30)
„Going back ten generations we have nine thousand ancestors and going back twenty-five we got thirty million.” (31)
Čitanje: red radovanja ekopoetičkim momentima, red gunđanja usled napada dnevne politike na poeziju: od Amerike nakon 11. septembra, političkih košmara u Aziji, Africi i Južnoj Americi, sve do ubistva Zorana Đinđića (66). Jasno mi je – autorka je želela da, kroz poetski dnevnik, pokaže isprepletanost svih stanovnika Zemlje i fluidnost prirode&društva, međutim, tendencija je ono što sprečava ovu poeziju da bude ono što bi mogla da bude. Kataloška konstrukcija na početku podsetila me je na „O Superman” Lori Anderson, to je taj manir, pa i ton! Mogu čuti njen glas. Mada, Lori je bolja, nema sumnje.
Hvala Osore-u na preporuci/isporuci.
„Going back ten generations we have nine thousand ancestors and going back twenty-five we got thirty million.” (31)
Čitanje: red radovanja ekopoetičkim momentima, red gunđanja usled napada dnevne politike na poeziju: od Amerike nakon 11. septembra, političkih košmara u Aziji, Africi i Južnoj Americi, sve do ubistva Zorana Đinđića (66). Jasno mi je – autorka je želela da, kroz poetski dnevnik, pokaže isprepletanost svih stanovnika Zemlje i fluidnost prirode&društva, međutim, tendencija je ono što sprečava ovu poeziju da bude ono što bi mogla da bude. Kataloška konstrukcija na početku podsetila me je na „O Superman” Lori Anderson, to je taj manir, pa i ton! Mogu čuti njen glas. Mada, Lori je bolja, nema sumnje.
Hvala Osore-u na preporuci/isporuci.
April 25, 2011
I was a bit dubious about this book when I started out. Partly because of some of the bad reviews here, partly because, flipping through the pages, I kept stumbling on lines that didn't seem very good on their own. But the book as a whole blew me away. It's incredibly brave in the way it takes up enormous, very contemporary but also very ancient, issues, and tries to deal with them immediately and directly. So the five-star rating is due a little bit to what the book is trying to do, its aspiration: to speak about something real, primarily war, and something that's very very hard to write about. But it's also due to the book itself. Again, reading the whole thing, as opposed to individual lines, was mesmerizing and moving to me; I felt drawn in by the speaker's voice and honesty and courage and her effort to see and feel the connection between our individual and intimate and often safe lives, and what's happening to other people and other cultures, often far-off ones. The book made me realize, too, how often contemporary poetry disappoints me--though there's a lot of it I love and find necessary, too--because it doesn't seem to do what this book does, i.e. speak about real things in a real voice. So hooray, Juliana Spahr! I'm excited to read more of your work.
July 1, 2008
When I read this book I thought, poetry matters. It is a long poem written just after 9-11, which takes on the tragedy and politics surrounding that event with a lyrical elegance and an experimental sense of language that work simultaneously to capture our closeness (our collective consciousness) and the sense of distance we feel from media and overwhelming world events. I am looking forward to reading more of Spahr who seems to know just how to blend the accessible with the edgy to achieve a poetry that is both contemporary and human.
Read
January 20, 2024I've spent my time with the women of ambient playlist on spotify & poem 1 - titular connection - made me think that way. kara-lis coverdale's Moments in Love; Loraine James' Whatever the Weather album; Mary Lattimore, endlessly. This approach to the molecular isn't unique but Spahr's slow prose-cess pulled me in twain... at once static intrusion like yr cuts in Fire Walk With Me & equally electromagnets . Today reading the blurb of a different poet where the critic writes 'Everything written about is ennobled, an island, a fishing expedition, a walk, a shave, a friend' & partly I'm probably uncomfortable because of the unironic victorianism (ennobled??) & partly because I don't like to take that as a good thing, to make a sweeping statement, poetry's probably not about making things bigger. Who's out going ah it is my duty to ennoble my friends for them
& Spahr's second poem lurches into the tidal/time-zone / politik. Nobody knows if a good political poem was ever written but if it has happened this is a good approach. o beloveds.
Beloveds, this poem is an attempt to speak with the calmness of the world seen from space and to forget the details
& Spahr's second poem lurches into the tidal/time-zone / politik. Nobody knows if a good political poem was ever written but if it has happened this is a good approach. o beloveds.
Beloveds, this poem is an attempt to speak with the calmness of the world seen from space and to forget the details
June 23, 2010
Juliana Spahr, This Connection of Everyone with Lungs (University of California Press, 2005)
There are a handful of books I defenestrate each year. (Since June of 2007, thirty-six books have been forcefully ejected from the window in total.) Usually they're either awfully-written fiction or dry, ponderous, textbook-like nonfiction. It is very, very rare that I do it with poetry. (The exception are those hideous “verse novel”s that are taking hold of kidlit these days, not a single one of which I've tried to read has even a passing knowledge of poetry.) But every once in a while I come across a book of poetry so outright horrendous that I simply can't bring myself to read one more word of it, no matter how little I have left. And to narrow this field further, in almost every case I have sent such books flying, they've been self- or vanity-published collections larger than any single-author collection you've seen outside Bukowski or a Collected Poems from someone very famous. In all my years of reading, I have defenestrated only two major-label poetry collections. Jill Scott's book went out the window in 2006. This morning, it was joined by Juliana Spahr's This Connection of Everyone with Lungs.
I've read Spahr before, and wasn't quite sure what to make of her back then. This book erases all of my doubts; she is far more interested in getting a message across (a message, no less, you've heard hundreds of times before, with nothing new added to the mix) than she is with crafting poetry. If you've read my reviews for any length of time, you'll know where I stand on that issue. To Spahr's (minuscule) credit here, she doesn't really attempt to make this even look like poetry, which makes me wonder why California released it as such instead of, say, a micro-book of political ranting (which is exactly what this is). You want an example? Here you go:
“I speak of toxic fumes given off by plastic flooring in a burning nightclub in Caracas.
I speak of the forty-seven dead in Caracas.
And I speak of the four dead in Palestine.
And of the three dead in Israel.
I speak of those dead in other parts of the world who go unreported.”
(“December 1, 2002”)
There's not even an attempt at rhythm to be had there. No attempt to elevate language. No form. Nothing but a list. And while I only managed to choke down forty-one pages of this mess, I can't imagine the remaining thirty-five were all that different. A shoo-in for my worst reads of the year list in 2010. (zero)
There are a handful of books I defenestrate each year. (Since June of 2007, thirty-six books have been forcefully ejected from the window in total.) Usually they're either awfully-written fiction or dry, ponderous, textbook-like nonfiction. It is very, very rare that I do it with poetry. (The exception are those hideous “verse novel”s that are taking hold of kidlit these days, not a single one of which I've tried to read has even a passing knowledge of poetry.) But every once in a while I come across a book of poetry so outright horrendous that I simply can't bring myself to read one more word of it, no matter how little I have left. And to narrow this field further, in almost every case I have sent such books flying, they've been self- or vanity-published collections larger than any single-author collection you've seen outside Bukowski or a Collected Poems from someone very famous. In all my years of reading, I have defenestrated only two major-label poetry collections. Jill Scott's book went out the window in 2006. This morning, it was joined by Juliana Spahr's This Connection of Everyone with Lungs.
I've read Spahr before, and wasn't quite sure what to make of her back then. This book erases all of my doubts; she is far more interested in getting a message across (a message, no less, you've heard hundreds of times before, with nothing new added to the mix) than she is with crafting poetry. If you've read my reviews for any length of time, you'll know where I stand on that issue. To Spahr's (minuscule) credit here, she doesn't really attempt to make this even look like poetry, which makes me wonder why California released it as such instead of, say, a micro-book of political ranting (which is exactly what this is). You want an example? Here you go:
“I speak of toxic fumes given off by plastic flooring in a burning nightclub in Caracas.
I speak of the forty-seven dead in Caracas.
And I speak of the four dead in Palestine.
And of the three dead in Israel.
I speak of those dead in other parts of the world who go unreported.”
(“December 1, 2002”)
There's not even an attempt at rhythm to be had there. No attempt to elevate language. No form. Nothing but a list. And while I only managed to choke down forty-one pages of this mess, I can't imagine the remaining thirty-five were all that different. A shoo-in for my worst reads of the year list in 2010. (zero)
February 17, 2008
only three because i can't figure out how i really feel about this work. i love the ideas, feelings of separateness yet irrevocable connectivity. but the delivery, the idea behind the language poets, i can't help but despise.
February 6, 2020
Life-changing, heart-wrenching.
January 31, 2023
While there a lot of interesting elements of the writing that work well rhetorically, I didn't find myself as dialed-in to the material as much as I think Spahr would have wanted me to be.
She's a brilliant writer-- and the first piece is phenomenal-- but I just don't care for the collective content in this one.
She's a brilliant writer-- and the first piece is phenomenal-- but I just don't care for the collective content in this one.
October 19, 2007
dug this immensely
wish it was widely available
political, emotional
the fact and sentimentalism of "lungs" and the impact of war for those not fighting it directly
could not dismiss it
wish it was widely available
political, emotional
the fact and sentimentalism of "lungs" and the impact of war for those not fighting it directly
could not dismiss it
December 29, 2015
A great collection of inspiring poetry from an astute poet, and I didn't like it simply because I'm a respiratory therapist and the title mentions lungs.
May 12, 2021
“Beloveds, this poem is an attempt to speak with the calmness of the world seen from space and to forget the details.”
November 11, 2025
"‘In bed, when I stroke the down of yours cheeks, I stroke also the carrier battle group ships, the guided missile cruisers, and the guided missile destroyers."
&
“The world goes on and on. spins tighter and then looser on a wobbling axis, and it has a list of adjectives to describe it, such as various and beautiful and new, but neither light, nor certitude, nor peace exist.”
&
“The world goes on and on. spins tighter and then looser on a wobbling axis, and it has a list of adjectives to describe it, such as various and beautiful and new, but neither light, nor certitude, nor peace exist.”
March 14, 2024
"Chances are that each of those one hundred and thirty-six people dead by politics' human hands had parents and children with ties so deep that those parents and children feel fractured now, one or two days later, immersed in a pain that has an analogy only to the intensity of pleasure.
Chances are that eac of those one hundred and thirty-six people dead by politics' human hands had pets and plants that need watering. Had food to make and food to eat. Had things to read and notes to write. Had enough or had too little."
Chances are that eac of those one hundred and thirty-six people dead by politics' human hands had pets and plants that need watering. Had food to make and food to eat. Had things to read and notes to write. Had enough or had too little."
July 9, 2021
Jag gillar den inledande och den avslutande dikten, och den nånstans i mitten som är en Sapfo-travesti är lite kul. Allt annat känns som en enda dikt som tuggar på i all oändlighet, med små variationer och lite för tunt innehåll för att täcka alla sina sidor.
February 9, 2021
creo q más bien quisiera darle 3.75 porque el primer poema es precioso y se lleva casi todo el libro. lo leí en voz alta y sentí todo ese espacio del que habla, el aire entrando y saliendo y fluyendo y regresando.
después hubo uno que comienza hablando del canto de unos periquitos que también me gustó muchísimo, pero a partir de ahí sentí que se volvía demasiado repetitivo, aunque también entiendo que ese es un poco el punto. es casi como una lista de todo lo que sucede/existe en el mundo que no solamente nos hace sentir pequeñes sino impotentes, y no de una forma mira-lo-grande-que-es-el-universo-nada-importa-en-realidad, sino todo-lo-que-sucede-al-mismo-tiempo-que-amas-comes-lloras-está-intrínsecamente-conectado-entre-sí.
creo que el último poema es el que mejor resume todos los de en medio, no sólo enlistando sino haciendo evidente la relación que existe entre desayunar en calma en occidente y la violencia y el despojo que suceden en oriente.
me gustó el formato de carta abierta, creo que funciona para involucrarte con ella y con les otres posibles lectores. recordé mucho lo que dice donna haraway sobre hacerse responsables de las cosas/seres que amamos.
después hubo uno que comienza hablando del canto de unos periquitos que también me gustó muchísimo, pero a partir de ahí sentí que se volvía demasiado repetitivo, aunque también entiendo que ese es un poco el punto. es casi como una lista de todo lo que sucede/existe en el mundo que no solamente nos hace sentir pequeñes sino impotentes, y no de una forma mira-lo-grande-que-es-el-universo-nada-importa-en-realidad, sino todo-lo-que-sucede-al-mismo-tiempo-que-amas-comes-lloras-está-intrínsecamente-conectado-entre-sí.
creo que el último poema es el que mejor resume todos los de en medio, no sólo enlistando sino haciendo evidente la relación que existe entre desayunar en calma en occidente y la violencia y el despojo que suceden en oriente.
me gustó el formato de carta abierta, creo que funciona para involucrarte con ella y con les otres posibles lectores. recordé mucho lo que dice donna haraway sobre hacerse responsables de las cosas/seres que amamos.
August 12, 2007
Spahr is beautiful and heartbreaking. This book so elegantly traces the depths of sadness surrounding the current state of world affairs, the connections we have with those who suffer far away, and the suffering of our connections with those we love most, those to whom we are closest, and how we cannot have one without the other. Brilliant.
June 25, 2013
Very few poets write poems that I have been able to relate to. Very few works of art responding to September 11 rise above triteness. This collection of poems includes "Poem Written After September 11, 2001," and it flourishes in both regards. It conveys the interconnectedness of all things uniquely and indisputably over the course of its unfolding rhythmic repetition.
June 12, 2016
A recommendation from DGW. I will need to read it again. It spoke directly to some of my recent concerns about how to write beyond the lyric "I" while remaining within the lyric tradition, but it also seemed to leave space open for development. Like I said, to be read again.
July 18, 2007
Well-paced prose poetry. Meditative, sorrowful, and beautiful.
July 30, 2007
I am supposed to like her, but I just have trouble getting into this book. Only read it once though, so I'll try it again. I hate giving up on a book that I know I should like...
September 6, 2010
Hated it.
March 19, 2018
Poetics of weak liberalism. Wide-eyed, harmed by the news. Silly.
September 19, 2007
Juliana Spahr's best.
November 25, 2019
This one doesn't make much sense until you remember that poetry is meant to be read out loud. Then it does.
The first poem is so beautiful and painful that I've spent the rest of the time reading this book on thinking about the first poem.
I was just a kid quite far away from all this action back in early 2000s, so a lot of things this book talks about I just don't remember and can't directly relate to, but the feeling of terrible things happening around, and not quite understanding if anything can be done to prevent it (probably not), and having it define your everyday life no matter what you do - this is very much applicable to the reality of the year 2019, and I, for one, am quite intimately familiar with it.
The first poem is so beautiful and painful that I've spent the rest of the time reading this book on thinking about the first poem.
I was just a kid quite far away from all this action back in early 2000s, so a lot of things this book talks about I just don't remember and can't directly relate to, but the feeling of terrible things happening around, and not quite understanding if anything can be done to prevent it (probably not), and having it define your everyday life no matter what you do - this is very much applicable to the reality of the year 2019, and I, for one, am quite intimately familiar with it.
December 17, 2019
I read this for a creative writing class in college around 2007 or so; just reread it again, and it is still greatly relevant. I personally love her use of repetition in the first poem and of lists in the “second” poem. There is something very ritualistic here - it reminds me of yoga and meditation. It reminds me that you can do the same thing again and again, and yet each individual experience is unique. Her lists are provocative, giving numbers to atrocious current events and juxtaposing them with “mundane” daily rituals. Her slow wording and the spelling out of numbers made me read slower, contemplate more - feel her thoughts in my breath.
Poetry is always risky business for readers. But I really liked this.
Poetry is always risky business for readers. But I really liked this.
November 8, 2017
There are easily definable themes here. Lots of repetition ensures that the reader is fully aware of theme. But there's also a lack of attention to detail. Oddly in all the specifics of war and death, I felt there was a lack of specificity. The mind boggles to think of the daily atrocities that we so hypocritically live through sipping lattes (that's me, at least). But what direction should our guilt take, Spahr has no clear suggestion except maybe protest. I'm afraid that to my ears this comes off as liberal navel-gazing.
November 11, 2019
I like it when a poetry collection has a consistent theme or moral to it, but when every poem is barely distinguishable from the one before, I lose interest. All the poems have the exact same content and form. Most of them are quite long and are mostely repetitive in style. You start out feeling interested, but as the poem goes on and on it starts to become awkward, like a speech that's been going on just a little too long. Ok, we get your point, Spahr.
December 26, 2021
From the title and reading briefly about it I thought the book would be about the connection with nature. Instead it is about the second invasion of Iraq. It brought back memories of frustration, anger but also at times hope or at least the feeling of connection with all those protesting against the war. She also captures that feeling of how one’s own life goes on and all the beauty around while people dye and suffer around the globe. It really hit hard in the heart
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews