Noticing Eden

by Marjory Heath Wentworth

Fred Chappell says, "Noticing Eden establishes Marjory Wentworth as a poet of keen observation and passionate understanding. Her work is so thoroughly immersed in nature that it seems as if the sea and sky speak for her and not that she speaks of them." In her first full collection of poems, Marjory Wentworth's canvas is Lowcountry South Carolina. In language that is elegant and piercing, she links the mysteries of the human experience with the power of the sea, the vagaries of the wind, and the brilliance of the sun, always ac the natural world in sensual detail.

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Marjory Wentworth is the Poet Laurate of South Carolina. Her books of poety include Noticing Eden, What the Water Gives me, and her new book, despite Gravity.

Simultaneously erotic and spiritual, the poems in Noticing Eden are bold evocations of the mysteries of love and, death and the mystical place where water and sand meet. This resonant collection is layered not only with aesthetic goodness, but with hope. Sue Monk Kidd
author of
The Secret Life of Bees
and The Mermaid Chair
"

Reviews

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I work at the university housing the SC Poetry Archives, so it isn't a surprise that the current South Carolina Poet Laureate would be included in that collection! Marjory Wentworth was appointed Poet Laureate by Mark Sanford in 2003 (famous for his "trip to the Appalachian Trail"), and she remains in the position today (2014). I originally searched for poems by her because she will be at the SC Book Festival in May.

The amazing thing about these poems is that I immediately was able to live inside of them. Many are place poems, in the coastal regions of the Low Country of South Carolina. Barrier islands and Shem Creek, etc., etc. I loved reading her descriptions of some of my favorite places on earth. These poems are very personal. Some include dedications, to friends, to lost family members, even an inauguration poem for former governor Sanford (I skipped that one.)

My favorites:

Toward the Sea ("...You enter expecting something softened by the sea...")
In the Dream of the Sea
Day to Day ("Cold blue bell. The world without your voice...")

While none of these are available online, you can see a few of her more recent poems at the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of her poetry showcasing the spiritual and natural low country of South Carolina.

[James Passaro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing really felt that different in the collection, definitely the poems all had a coastal Carolina feel with sensual imagery. Nothing stuck the landing for me and ending with an inauguration poem felt vain