North True South Bright

by Dan Beachy-Quick

This smart, lyrical collection explores the dangers of a world so complex that no single consciousness may grasp it—however much the attempt must be made. Following historical and imagined figures as they encounter specific moments or objects (such as Thomas Hariot in the Ameri-can Wilderness of the late 16th century), the poems attempt to record the unraveling of the safe and singular into a multiplicity of unknowns. Impelled by metaphor and lilting repetition, North True South Bright seeks a sense of the world, and ultimately, a sense of the Infinite. Hariot’s Round
I know, to entice, to convince, I must sing
Your ear inside stone, must sing
Gold bitten and true, the corn kernel, one seed,
I must plant one gold seed in your mouth with my lips.
Raleigh the Queen known my name. The Crown
Of a woodpecker is ruby, but shy.
Inhabitants adorn themselves with feathers, and feathers
Bright on arrow ends. Bow—before a Queen. Bend closed my book.
The page is deaf that turns back to look at what it found. "In North True South Bright , Dan Beachy-Quick proves the compass of his eye to be perfectly exact, precisely true. These poems are finely made contemporaries of sunlight. And, like sunlight, their history is Now."—Donald Revell

Genres: Poetry

63 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A work that is constantly in search of the ontological. "Daybook" is particularly brilliant.

Dan Beachy-Quick does something amazing for a debut work, he combines lyric poetry with formal innovation to create a work that blurs the boundaries between human nature, the natural world, the religious impulse, art, and language.

[Allyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful.

[Muthee BM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucky find and I'm grateful it's one of the first books I've read this year. Syntactically innovative, thoughtful, and a sheer joy to read out loud. I read and continue to read the first section, North/South Composition, for what it makes possible, what it performs. The third part, Daybook, is without a doubt the outstanding part of the book. As Ann Lauterbach says in her review of the book, "In North True South Bright, the eye opens to sing, the mouth opens to see."

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book that does not give readers any pleasure although it does teach them a lot about syntactical invention in poetry.

[Jeremy Allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skillful. And there were poems that struck me. But I want to believe the best of DBQ's work comes elsewhere.