From the Bones Out: Poems

James Dickey Contemporary Poetry

by Marisa de los Santos

Marisa de los Santos often situates her poems in the rich, vividly evoked landscapes of Virginia and Texas as well as her father's homeland, the Philippines, but their true territory is the body itself, particularly the female body. Throughout her work there is a sharp longing for a life of the senses, of "pure corpus." In the words of the poem "Women Watching Basketball," there is the Whitmanian desire "to declare Divine is the flesh! and for once to believe it, believe it."

De los Santos is acutely conscious of all that interferes with the realization of this the brutalities of illness, the transfigurations of age, our readiness to respond to the body as seen object rather than active sentient subject. Even the very passion for language that brings these poems to life is a risk, and in the poem "Io's Gift," the mythical nymph Io laments, "A woman made of words is milkweed, bound to rattle open, scatter, and be lost."

In From the Bones Out, loss, doubt, and conflict engender poems of lucidity and compassion―amounting to empathic verbal gestures―that build connections between women, as well as between women and men, and that seek to illuminate the simple elusive fact that the world is full of lives, each real, each different from the other. The compassion the poems express in sometimes strictly formal, always shapely, lines and stanzas is what gives this collection its grace and moral urgency.

Genres: Poetry

79 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

About the author

Marisa de los Santos is the New York Times bestselling author of LOVE WALKED IN, BELONG TO ME, FALLING TOGETHER, THE PRECIOUS ONE, and her newest novel, which continues with characters from the first two, I'LL BE YOUR BLUE SKY.

Marisa has also co-authored, with her husband David Teague, two novels for middle grade readers: SAVING LUCAS BIGGS and CONNECT THE STARS.

Marisa and David live in Wilmington, Delaware with their two children, Charles and Annabel, and their Yorkies, Finny and Huxley. Marisa is currently at work on her sixth novel for adults, I'D GIVE ANYTHING.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read de los Santos’ other books this summer, I was really excited to find a story that hooked me in. I thought her books were interesting, well written, and thoughtful. So, imagine my excitement to find she had some other writing out there. From the Bones Out is her poetry collection, and I thought it beautifully written. For me, personally, the theme of aging stood out among others. Perhaps that’s because it’s been on my mind, perhaps it’s something she was thinking about when writing, perhaps not. Her words stayed with me, though, and I had to read them all out loud, as all good poetry should be read.

[Winter Sophia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warm, Moving, Heartfelt, Compassionate, Breathtaking & Magical! A Beautiful Read! I Loved It!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some poems were great, delightful to read despite often depressing subjects, and some were a slog to get through. Favorites I keep going back to are "For a Stillborn" and "Land".

[Sarah Faulkner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some beautiful language and imagery, but I prefer her novels to her poetry. Very personal themes and some have a bit of a juvenile feel.