In the Event of Full Disclosure

by Cynthia Atkins

The family connections in Cynthia Atkins' IN THE EVENT OF FULL DISCLOSURE are intimate, both entwining and empowering the rich experience these poems convey. "I've faked it and faked it well./ I hear our ancestors yelling / from the mental ward of hell," declares Cynthia Atkins near the start of IN THE EVENT OF FULL DISCLOSURE, a book that explores what it means when mental illness becomes close as blood. Family offers both comfort and disquiet. In these elegant, beautifully observed poems, Atkins considers the burden of being a daughter, a sibling, a mother, and-most of all-a poet charged with making sense of 'indecipherable lists, ' of wars domestic and national, and of the fact that all of us are 'born in a trick of love.'"-Jehanne Dubrow "I like the easy and big-hearted familiarity with the reader that Cynthia Atkins shows in her poetry. She doesn't keep us at arm's length. She invites us right in, an act that lends confidence and helps to break down the barriers between writer and reader. At those moments when the 'small feet / of silence conspire / in your ear' and 'the gibbous moon rises / like an old rubbed coin, ' we feel we are right there with her. What a pleasure it is to be in the presence of poetry that is so readable and companionable!"-Richard Tillinghast "Rhapsodic, generous, and seriously witty, this poetry invites us to discover new routes through our dizzying contemporary situation. So much of wide-ranging experience is drawn into this startling poetry-and with such energy. Cynthia Atkins's speakers refuse to let their word-loving heads be pushed underwater by despair. They rise up, their propulsive language bringing to the surface the troubling signs of our time, all the while defying the risks we face, coining phrases (a character acts 'like a freak teapot'), and delivering us at last to intimations about 'the room beyond / the room of knowledge.'"-Lee Upton "Cynthia Atkins' extraordinary collection is a display of precious, vacuum-packed, uranium-heavy poems that still glow in the dark a long time after you have finished reading them, illuminating your heart and guts from the inside."--Seb Doubinsky

102 pages, Paperback

First published June 12, 2013

Reviews

[Jen Knox · Rating 5 out of 5]

These poems, together, create a sort of chorus. Writing that strikes me wants to know about the world, to value the true beauty within it - that which is found in nature and despite it. It wants to understand but also to step back and throw up its hands and admit what it does not know, to ask the question.

I felt so close to the writing in many of these poems that, although I rarely write poetry, I felt as though these stories and rhythms and word choices summarized my own thoughts and feelings precisely. I love that sensation after reading a book, and it doesn't happen often.

[Maryann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of my favorite lines from "Voices"

Then we turned and parted company,
my voice and me-It was played back
by the machine, to introduce itself to itself.

[Kathleen Rodgers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading this book with a yellow Sharpie in my hand. Every time I highlight my new favorite line, I move to the next page and another poem explodes in full color.

Cynthia Atkins paints such vivid imagery, and her words form memory circles around my heart. When I read the poems in this stunning collection, I feel like the poet and I have led parallel lives. And yet we've never met in person.

How can you not love a line like this?: "We piled in the paneled Station Wagon holding tight to our dream pillows."

Or this one: "Because years have proven that each death leads to song."

Cynthia Atkins' poems pull you right in. She doesn't hold you at arms' length - push you away with too many words that leave you scratching your head (like some poets do) - she embraces you with her easily accessible, conversational tone that makes you feel at home in her words. Even if that home is not always the sanest place at times.

You don't have to be a poetry snob to enjoy "In the Event of Full Disclosure." I highly recommend it.

Kathleen M. Rodgers
award-winning author of "The Final Salute"

[THE TORONTO QUARTERLY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey, Everyone! Please check out my latest interview with poet Cynthia Atkins as we discuss poetry and her new collection, In The Event of Full Disclosure (CW, Wordtech, 2013). Read the interview now on my TTQ Blog. http://thetorontoquarterly.blogspot.c...

[Showcasing Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Event of Full Disclosure

Author: Cynthia Atkins

Pages: 96

My Review and Thoughts:

The greatest form of writing or expression and of literature is the art form of poetry. Poetry is the very fabric of the soul, the beating heart, the imaginative mind and the very recesses of life and death. In the Event of Full Disclosure Cynthia Atkins captures everything poetry is truly about.

One can bring forth laughter, sadness and ultimate punishment by poetry. I am a lover of poetry. I've read poetry most of my life. I enjoy dabbling in writing it also. I am very fond when I come across a new poetry book. This poetry book I can happily say I was thoroughly pleased and in awe of it's beauty and wonderment of words.

There is a key in the world of poetry. Anyone can write poetry, but not everyone can be a true poet, or better put, A Good Poet. Words must flow for meaning. A real poet must express the very recesses of existence, whether it be through laughter and silly tongue, or whether it be the dark leafy forbidding darkness of a path not taken, yet now one must. Behold I give you Cynthia Atkins, she expresses all that and more.

To be honest I had only read two pieces of poetry of Mrs. Atkins when I came across her Facebook. I then obtained this book through being a winner of a comment contest and so I was awarded this book.

I want to say thank you Mrs. Atkins for this opportunity to read and review your book. She did not know I would review her book, this is my own doing. Now I've had several books sent to me in the past or I'll come across a book and not know anything about a poet and sometimes that is the ultimate dread for me, because I'm an honest reviewer. Like I say anyone can write poetry but only some can be a true poet.

And let me tell you, Cynthia Atkins is a true poet.

The poetry inside this book is truly emotionally touching, mind opening and thought-provoking and structurally sound in perfect brilliance. I found myself reading over and over certain pieces that truly stand out as, perfect written poetry.

Cynthia Atkins poetry is brilliantly unmasked perfection in all its amazing word play.

Her poetry truly makes the mind think. It brings out many mixed emotions and creates a scenario of what it meant, of what it could be, of what it details.

Would I Recommend: I highly recommend this book of poetry for those who love amazing written word and for those who love amazing books that stand out and mean something. She is a true powerhouse at creating emotions and imagery through wordplay. She is brilliant at creating poetry to be remembered.

Would I Return to: In a heartbeat? She gives her all to the words of the soul on page.

Four Final Words: Addictive, Moving, Emotional Charged.

My Rating: 5 out of 5

My Favorite Lines:

Family Therapy (1) Page 33
Lines 32-36

I am my child's child, doomed
for failure. The father is my lover,
the sheets spilled his seed, something to hold. When I opened
my eyes, my father held out a puppy.

------

What the Blind See Page 25
Lines 22-23

The wide night turns on its darkness. Two empty swings, ample the wind.

------

Shelf-Life Page 39
Lines 7-10

All the morticians
have thumbed their noses
at mortality-then pitched us into distinction.

------

Terror in the Streets Page 56
Lines 9-11

Ticks picked off scalps like fleas on elephants.
Hell on earth-the literal tropes the earth.
Each grave used to be a parking lot.