Nervous System: Poems – The 2018 National Poetry Series Winner on Nature, the Body, and the Human Psyche

by Rosalie Moffett

A moving and kinetic collection of poetry from the 2018 winner of the National Poetry Series, selected by Monica Youn Unexpected, unusual, and stirring, the poetry of Rosalie Moffett “takes us to the brink of a world continually unmaking itself,” ( Georgia Review ). From diving-bell spiders to the nervous system of the human body, from trees growing so heavy with fruit that they split to dogs galloping through snowy hills, Moffett’s world is rendered with precision, intricacy, and extraordinary beauty. Exhilarating in its technical expertise but also steeped in a profound connection to the natural world and the human psyche,  Nervous System  is a collection from a major emerging voice.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2019

About the author

Rosalie Moffett is the author of June in Eden, winner of the Ohio State University Press/The Journal prize. She has been awarded the "Discovery"/Boston Review prize, a Wallace Stegner Fellowship in Creative Writing from Stanford University, and scholarships from the Tin House and Bread Loaf writing workshops. Her poems and essays have appeared in Tin House, The Believer, FIELD, Narrative, Kenyon Review, Agni, Ploughshares, and other magazines, as well as in the anthology “Gathered: Contemporary Quaker Poets.” She lives in Athens, GA where she teaches and manages the Avid Poetry Series.

Reviews

[Claire]

This was a beautiful reflection on a mother-daughter relationship that has to endure memory loss. The beauty that Moffett finds in things we usually deem as scary, like spiders, enhances the uncomfortableness of seeing someone you love, not being able to do what they want to do.

[Aunt Beast]

One of the best books of poetry I've read all year. Tender, introspective, devastating.

[Gayle]

This destroyed me. Spiders, snails, a mother.

[Olive Savoie]

Each poem in the anthology, and there are 74, bleeds into the next, and similar to many of Emily Dickinson’s works, none have titles. The poems bleed into each-other so much so that I found myself reading as if it were poetic prose, or a novel. I am still questioning if it’s “meant” to be read as individual poems or as one big, interconnected poem. There’s lotsa extended metaphor and repeated themes and even phrases repeated verbatim. Its as if Moffett said, “okay, how many stories can I tell using this one metaphor?” or, “how many ways can I spin this phrase?”

The poems tell stories of mental health, Moffett’s relationship to her mother, the female reproductive system, and natural/medical science. There’s a good mix of scientific and purely poetic language. I learned a lotta cool facts about spiders!

Moffett’s poems were so well webbed together (I say “webbed” in reference to all her spider imagery) and although repetitive, never boring. She has a very relatable and heartbreaking voice as a daughter and a woman. It’s ALL about motherhood, memory loss, and womanhood...it’s really, really wonderful.

[Kiana]

I like snails and spiders and feeling sad so I liked these poems a lot. The subject matter was heavy but balanced out by the short length. I also loved the structure- it felt like a stream of consciousness but managed to stay cohesive which isn’t always the case for poetry books. I had to actively read like even take out my airpods to focus on the words which isn’t something I have to do a lot. This is definitely a book I would revisit again to annotate.

[Bob Marcacci]

Delineates the narrator’s interactions or reflections on her mother’s return from a fall that resulted in a head injury. It drew me in and made me think of my own aging father’s interactions with his mother.

On the craft side—and this is tightly crafted—I wanted more variety of form; the whole book is composed of tercets, every other line indented, which, perhaps lends itself to the spider / nervous system analogies woven thru the text.

[Amie Whittemore]

I did write a review of this book, and it might someday get published, but wanted everyone to know how fabulous and smart this collection is and recommend it to everyone who likes poems, who are interested in memory and self, who want to see what it's like to write a book-length poem, y'all are the ones who should read this beauty.

[Eman Z]

Natalie Moffet’s Nervous System is a haunting meditation on loss and love’s relentless pull. Through the image of a wolf spider breaking her legs to reclaim lead-filled "eggs," Moffet captures the painful futility of holding onto what’s gone. Visceral and unforgettable, this poem lingers like a wound that refuses to heal.

[Finny]

Beautiful exploration of grief unfolding in front of you. I met Rosalie when she came to my schools campus and read a few of her pieces. I have never been more jealous of the way someone puts experiences into words.

4.5

[Ellen]

I don't read much poetry so i'm not sure I'm a good review writer but I loved this book. It was so enthralling and vulnerable and relatable

[Mr.]

Poignant, powerful poetry.

[Yu]

a poetry collection about loss, memory and love for her mother. Oh how much I envy you, poet Rosalie, forming beautiful poems, I could taste the triumph of your up-bringing between the lines.

[S. Matisko]

excellent poetry of high level and skill

[Stephanie Linnell]

4/5 stars

[Sarah]

"Imagine
being so negligible in the eyes
of gravity, that the earth
has barely a hold on you."

[Angela]

The blurb does not do the book justice. This is an exploration of a daughter's love for her mother who has experienced brain damage. There are multiple layers of metaphor and existential pondering.

[Megan Archuleta]

This book was confusing at times. But good

[Jason Cruz]

extremely interesting and page turning while being tender and felt what about .

[Courtney]

How have I never come across Rosalie Moffett's poetry before?! This collection is stunning, elaborate, and emotional, its details twisting together beautifully. I'd immediately give it to friends to read if I didn't also want to keep it to reread. I'll definitely be following Rosalie Moffett more in the future!

[Tess Klaver]

Unequivocally haunting, these poems are an exploration of what lives inside our skulls - from physical tissue to memory and more. Rosalie Moffett heartbreakingly renders what it is to see a loved one slip beneath the tide of a brain losing itself, while etching her own memories of her relationship with her mother in visceral prose. These poems were a deeply uncomfortable reminder that all we associate with being ourselves is mutable, breakable, transient.

[H]

reread for a conference with a student. my god, what a book. i think the lack of titles contributes to how closely-woven each element feels—also no other book of poetry gets as close to how i feel about my own mother