Matter

by Meredith Quartermain

What if words evolved in species and genera just like birds and dinosaurs? What if you classified them in kingdoms and families? Made a phylogenetic tree with orders of Space, Matter, or Intellect. Gravity and Levity as classes of Matter. With Density, Rarity, Pungency, Ululation. Would this matter taxonomy speak of the out-there, the non-human? Or the in-here � the human mind, the sorting, reasoning human � homo linguis the word maker, the world maker? Formally innovative, Matter explores Roget's taxonomy, rummaging its taint of globalism and social Darwinism, unearthing relations between humans, language and the planet. Matter asks what if words are so many birds, chirping and chattering? What is thought? What is knowledge? What's your life list of words?

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

Reviews

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meredith Quartermain's "Matter" has some interesting echoes amongst its selections: Sylvia Legris' fascination with birds and birdsong, Don McKay's veneration of the natural world, Erin Moure's sprightly dissection of the construction of words. Quartermain's premise of examining words as if they were species and genera is intriguing, but seems to prove overwhelming over the course of this slim volume. Her concern with sticking to the constructs and constraints of the theme of physical and etymological taxonomies regularly bogs her poems down. The results are just too dense and intricate at times. When Quartermain relaxes and just lets the words flow, as she does in "Matter 18: An Albumen of Absence" and in the whimsical "Life List of Words" at the end of the volume, the premise retains its charm but becomes much more accessible.