The Spirit Papers

by Elizabeth Metzger

EXCERPT
All right, I'm a little afraid.
It's the zeroing in of All That Could
Possibly Go Wrong vs. Myself.
―"Small Talk with an Imagined Son"

The Spirit Papers explores the magical thinking that precedes impending and inevitable loss, the taboo fantasia that occurs in the crippling timelessness of anticipation. Grieving for the future with a spiritual clarity characterized by ritual and doubt, Metzger's lines are chameleons to every feeling. In the interminable window of expecting the unexpected, the poems ultimately materialize the very events they wish to ward off. The Spirit Papers chases mortality with equal parts disbelief and love.

Genres: Poetry

92 pages, Paperback

Published January 19, 2017

Reviews

[Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not one to confuse inscrutability with quality. That said, I was absolutely stumped by more than a few of the poems in Elizabeth Metzger's The Spirit Papers, and could not formulate the vaguest inkling of what some of them were trying to say. Nevertheless, the poems are packed with incredibly beautiful, daedal language that makes the book an enriching joy to read. Plus, the harder poems force me to think critically, which I should probably do a lot more of, anyway.

[Jeremy · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Cellar Below Heaven” / “And Beautiful Times We Had” / “The Unmaking Life” / “Cargo”