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Circumference
As the 1950s draws to a close, Tommy Martin receives a telegram informing him that his father is dying and he should come home. Drawn back to Pepperell, Massachusetts, he’s forced to relive his teenage years, remember Mike the boy he loved and come face to face with the family he left behind.
“Mark Ward has named this slim volume of powerful poems Circumference, an apt title given the geological boundaries imposed on us by blood and heart: those things we run from; those things we run to. Here is the timeline of a life, not linear but circular, and the places and people loved and lost and sometimes found again. Here is the poetry of, if not redemption, then reckoning. Here is an understanding that coming-of-age is a process that never stops; that we all are coming-of-age no matter at which point on the circle we find ourselves. Ward has chronicled something aching and timeless in this collection: the weight of the legacies we carry, and the pull of the lives we invent for ourselves.”
–Bryan Borland, Author of DIG
Mark Ward is a poet from Dublin, Ireland. He was the 2015 Poet Laureate for Glitterwolf and was a featured poet in the final Lingo Festival. His poems have been featured in Assaracus, Tincture, Poetry Ireland Review and Skylight47, as well as the anthologies Not Just Another Pretty Face and The Myriad Carnival. He founded and edits Impossible Archetype, a journal of LGBTQ+ poetry.
“Mark Ward has named this slim volume of powerful poems Circumference, an apt title given the geological boundaries imposed on us by blood and heart: those things we run from; those things we run to. Here is the timeline of a life, not linear but circular, and the places and people loved and lost and sometimes found again. Here is the poetry of, if not redemption, then reckoning. Here is an understanding that coming-of-age is a process that never stops; that we all are coming-of-age no matter at which point on the circle we find ourselves. Ward has chronicled something aching and timeless in this collection: the weight of the legacies we carry, and the pull of the lives we invent for ourselves.”
–Bryan Borland, Author of DIG
Mark Ward is a poet from Dublin, Ireland. He was the 2015 Poet Laureate for Glitterwolf and was a featured poet in the final Lingo Festival. His poems have been featured in Assaracus, Tincture, Poetry Ireland Review and Skylight47, as well as the anthologies Not Just Another Pretty Face and The Myriad Carnival. He founded and edits Impossible Archetype, a journal of LGBTQ+ poetry.
40 pages, Paperback
Published August 3, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 19, 2018
I'm always nervous to review poetry and it always brings to mind the quote ascribed to Robert Frost when someone asked him to explain one of his poems: "Do you want me to say it worse?" I always feel woefully unsuited to offer an opinion on poetry: it's a form of artistry I admire...and have zero ability with myself.
That said, over the past month or so, I've moved through this collection from Ward and it felt as familiar as breathing. Ward has a gift of emotional exposure that is universal even while it orbits the specific narrative in play. Here is the queer son's disconnect with the deceased father—the details so very different from the life of this reader, but the emotional reality of it so spot-on that I lean back from the chapbook and feel a tremble in my chest. I remember this, I think, of events that didn't happen to me, but so easily could have been.
The orbits of the poems in Circumference are exactly that: orbits. The narratives are caught in the gravity of family, or lovers, or loss, and while there may be respite, they will circle around again in a decade, or an afternoon. That arc is real, and sometimes brutal, and so very queer I often found myself catching my breath after a piece. (It begins with letting him win / allowing him to see what's within / without knowing if he's kin from "Love" was one of those moments, one of many.)
Circumference feels larger than it is, and like all my favourite collections of poetry, offers a narrative journey that left me pondering after. I find myself reconsidering my own orbits, and wondering how long before it's time to come back around again.
That said, over the past month or so, I've moved through this collection from Ward and it felt as familiar as breathing. Ward has a gift of emotional exposure that is universal even while it orbits the specific narrative in play. Here is the queer son's disconnect with the deceased father—the details so very different from the life of this reader, but the emotional reality of it so spot-on that I lean back from the chapbook and feel a tremble in my chest. I remember this, I think, of events that didn't happen to me, but so easily could have been.
The orbits of the poems in Circumference are exactly that: orbits. The narratives are caught in the gravity of family, or lovers, or loss, and while there may be respite, they will circle around again in a decade, or an afternoon. That arc is real, and sometimes brutal, and so very queer I often found myself catching my breath after a piece. (It begins with letting him win / allowing him to see what's within / without knowing if he's kin from "Love" was one of those moments, one of many.)
Circumference feels larger than it is, and like all my favourite collections of poetry, offers a narrative journey that left me pondering after. I find myself reconsidering my own orbits, and wondering how long before it's time to come back around again.
March 28, 2019
Circumference usually relates to a part of the anatomy in gay poetry. Thankfully, Mark Ward’s Circumference has higher poetical aspirations. His chapbook’s title conjures Donne’s famous image of a circle been drawn as two souls, like the legs of a compass, yearn for one another. What evolves from the title is a fine collection of poems that map the boundaries of a troubled human life. The plot of Circumference is simple and that is one of the book’s strengths: a reader can focus on nuances and tension. Tommy’s father is dying and that requires Tommy (the narrator) to return to Pepperell, a small town in Massachusetts. Inevitably, this results in a confrontation with his mother who has never coped with his sexual orientation, and memories of Mike, his first love. In a world where size falsely matters, novels are about blockbusters and trilogies, and poetry is about the volume of seventy poems, usually stuffed with a lot of dross that detracts from the fine poems, it is good to see a small press back a piece of short, quality writing that is worth reading and worth buying.
September 28, 2018
I read this straight through. The open raw emotion and visual writing made it so I could not put it down until i finished out. 10/10 would recommend. Trigger warning to unresolved issues with fathers or parents passing.
January 9, 2019
5 Emotional and Raw Stars
First off I don't read much poetry and find it nerve wrecking to review but it was a no brainier that I would review this book. I read through it so quickly but found myself going back to it a few times to read over. The words flowed throughout, so raw and emotionally and I found them so powerful at times.
Circumference is a 5 star read from me and highly recommend picking it up.
http://realtastypages.com
First off I don't read much poetry and find it nerve wrecking to review but it was a no brainier that I would review this book. I read through it so quickly but found myself going back to it a few times to read over. The words flowed throughout, so raw and emotionally and I found them so powerful at times.
Circumference is a 5 star read from me and highly recommend picking it up.
http://realtastypages.com
May 23, 2024
The main thrust of the collection is that, as the 1950s come to an end, Tommy Martin receives a telegram notifying him of his father’s impending death. After many years away, he returns to his hometown of Pepperell, Massachusetts, where he is subsequently forced to relive his teenage years, reminisce about Mike, the boy he loved, and confront his estranged family. Ward masterfully delves into universally felt human emotions while focusing on specific narratives, particularly queerness and how it relates to self-acceptance and social/familial connections. These poems are powerful, expertly navigating the emotional landscape of love, grief, loss, and family; resolution is a state of perception—or acceptance of what you get.
(Read the full review at www.ryanlawrenceauthor.ca)
(Read the full review at www.ryanlawrenceauthor.ca)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews