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Asterisms: Poems
An eclectic collection of poems that celebrates the universe and the natural world of which we are all a part. Reflecting on subjects ranging from Comet NEOWISE to swallowtail butterflies to The Incredible Hulk , Kane’s new book is a thought-provoking follow up to her last collection, Orrery . Diverse in tone and subject matter, mixing humour and wonder, the poems in Asterisms take readers on a soul-stirring journey through the expansiveness of space and the interconnectedness of all life on earth.
80 pages, Paperback
Published August 13, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 16, 2024
This book is one of those rare creatures in the poetry space that demands to be read linearly, cover to cover, in one sitting. You don’t want to skip a single syllable. Don’t even blink because you might very well miss something great.
It’s one of the most effective, intimate, personal and somehow universal collections I have had the good fortune to read. In terms of impact, I put it right next to 77 Fragments of a Familiar Ruin by Thomas King.
It’s blunt, grateful, curious, biting, comforting. It invites the reader into a mind that is learning the value of presence in all moments, in all ways. It’s also witty, passionate and deeply mortal.
Asterisms takes us from micro to macro, from insect to the observable universe, from our personal environments to the global ecosystem, sometimes within in a single stanza, all while keeping us magically in the now. In the experience of being human. The result is that Asterisms provides us with a new perspective we can’t deny.
The best poetry opens doors within us that can never be closed. Donna Kane has done precisely that here.
Read Asterisms, then read it again. I guarantee you’ll see the world differently.
It’s one of the most effective, intimate, personal and somehow universal collections I have had the good fortune to read. In terms of impact, I put it right next to 77 Fragments of a Familiar Ruin by Thomas King.
It’s blunt, grateful, curious, biting, comforting. It invites the reader into a mind that is learning the value of presence in all moments, in all ways. It’s also witty, passionate and deeply mortal.
Asterisms takes us from micro to macro, from insect to the observable universe, from our personal environments to the global ecosystem, sometimes within in a single stanza, all while keeping us magically in the now. In the experience of being human. The result is that Asterisms provides us with a new perspective we can’t deny.
The best poetry opens doors within us that can never be closed. Donna Kane has done precisely that here.
Read Asterisms, then read it again. I guarantee you’ll see the world differently.
December 15, 2024
Asterisms
By Donna Kane
Nothing can escape the philanthropy of Donna Kane's microscopic eye, especially when it comes to (human) nature. Kane sees our foibles as part of the cosmos, inescapable as asteroids crashing towards earth. Love Poem for Every Animal on Earth: "Gravity is the tailor / stitching planets around stars, / pearl buttons cinched tight in space / like hearts inside the rib cage / of the elephant or the shrew."
The application of Kane's words is precise. The poems echo of Darwinism. She sympathizes with the cruelty of being left behind, unchosen, and how every act of unkindness is a measured death. Perennial: "It's not the flight so much / as how the sparrow gathers up her body / for the landing, how the ladybug folds / each wing like a napkin inside its lacquered case."
Asterisms is beauty in motion.
[Asterisms, Harbour Publishing, 2024]
By Donna Kane
Nothing can escape the philanthropy of Donna Kane's microscopic eye, especially when it comes to (human) nature. Kane sees our foibles as part of the cosmos, inescapable as asteroids crashing towards earth. Love Poem for Every Animal on Earth: "Gravity is the tailor / stitching planets around stars, / pearl buttons cinched tight in space / like hearts inside the rib cage / of the elephant or the shrew."
The application of Kane's words is precise. The poems echo of Darwinism. She sympathizes with the cruelty of being left behind, unchosen, and how every act of unkindness is a measured death. Perennial: "It's not the flight so much / as how the sparrow gathers up her body / for the landing, how the ladybug folds / each wing like a napkin inside its lacquered case."
Asterisms is beauty in motion.
[Asterisms, Harbour Publishing, 2024]
February 21, 2024
Loved these poems!
Thank you to Harbour Publishing for my gifted review copy!
Thank you to Harbour Publishing for my gifted review copy!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews