Pathogenesis

by Peggy Munson

Poetry. Gay & Lesbian Studies. "Put whippets in your heart and let the rabbits breed. They will." Like still-wet lagomorphs crawling over each other in innate proximity, Peggy Munson's poems confine the reader "inside a lantern, buzzing at the headlights." Munson addresses illness, family, and the blood running through both with malleable tenacity. Noelle Kocot describes Munson's work as "free from a lot of the burden of contemporary poetry conventions, existing] like a small island in the fiery sun, alone, yet willing to be utterly beautiful, utterly strange and utterly itself." PATHOGENESIS was a finalist or semifinalist for numerous prizes, including the Dorset Prize, the Carnegie-Mellon Poetry Series, the Beatrice Hawley Award, the Verse Prize, and the University of Wisconsin Pollack Prize. Munson is the author of the novel, ORIGAMI STRIPTEASE, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards.

Genres: Poetry, Queer, Disability

110 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2008

About the author

Munson is the author of the novel, Origami Striptease, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards. She also edited the anthology, Stricken: Voices from the Hidden Epidemic of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She has published in such places as Best American Poetry 2003, Literature and Medicine, Marginalia, the Spoon River Poetry Review, Sinister Wisdom, 13th Moon, Blithe House Quarterly, Lodestar Quarterly, Margin: Exploring Modern Magical Realism, Best American Erotica, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Peggy has also been a fellow at the MacDowell Colony, the Ragdale Foundation, and Cottages at Hedgebrook.

Pathogenesis was a finalist or semifinalist for numerous prizes including the Dorset Prize, the Carnegie-Mellon Poetry Series, the Beatrice Hawley Award, the Verse Prize, and the University of Wisconsin Pollack Prize. Bay Windows described Peggy as a "master of the written word," and Rebecca Brown dubbed her a "stylist extraordinaire." An Illinois native, Peggy now resides in the woods of Western Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noelle Kocot describes Munson's work as "free from a lot of the burden of contemporary poetry conventions, [existing] like a small island in the fiery sun, alone, yet willing to be utterly beautiful, utterly strange and utterly itself."

After reading this book, I'd have to agree. I know very little about poetry, and to be honest I dislike most of the poetry I've read, but I got so much out of this little book. Peggy's use of words is so unique. So clever. I'm now a dedicated poetry convert!

Pathogenesis made me cry within just a few minutes of starting reading. Admittedly I have the same devastating and disabling neurological disease (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) to a similar severity as Peggy, so I could really relate, but even without that, this book is just so powerful. I can't imagine anyone with any compassion or humanity coming away unaffected.

It's unlike any other poetry I have read, it is so beautiful.... and at the same time so, so sad. Readers get a brief taste of what it is like to live with a devastating neurological and cardiovascular disease, as well as how much the extreme level of suffering is increased when you have a disease that is subject to a publically accepted campaign of misinformation, misrepresentation and outright lies, for mere financial gain. When you are so ill but get almost no appropriate medical care, or are treated unfairly and cruelly by friends and family, because of these same scientifically unsupportable lies.

The last poem in the book in particular just kills me.

The book is also beautifully and simply designed.

Peggy Munson is immensely talented. Those not familiar with severe M.E. can have no idea what an achievement this small book is, and how much pain and suffering must have gone into the writing of it: just a few minutes at a time each day. Each minute spent writing having an immense physical cost as well as being very difficult due to the profound cognitive problems caused by M.E.

If you are a poet, I think this book will inspire you to write. If you love poetry or just love the clever and unusual use of words, I highly recommend Pathogenesis. It's a little gem.

Jodi Bassett (author of the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis website 'A Hummingbirds Guide')

[Cynthia Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh God, oh God I love this book. "But when Love/screams Fuck you it's like being kissed by an angel." This book is like that.