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Existence
These poems involve a sensitive contemplation of existence, with a lamentation for lost youth and a profound questioning of life's suffering. Depicting an anguished consciousness in a bewildering universe, there is a deep need for the clarity of knowledge. Addressing the seeming futility and emptiness of life, various tales convey this continual enigma. Throughout this struggle, momentous encounters with beauty lead to an expanded appreciation for the wonder of the cosmos. Finally, the pervasive pain leads to a strong yearning for the Infinite and the crucial turn towards deeper understanding.
- GenresPoetry
148 pages, Paperback
First published April 11, 2019
19 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Manieri
4 books64 followersChristopher Manieri is a Canadian poet and novelist with a great love for literature. Residing near Toronto, Ontario, he is a graduate of York University. He also has a deep interest in philosophy and history.
(Former pen name: Christopher Manners)
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 19, 2019
Earlier this year I read The Voyage by Christopher Manners. Now I have read his second book, Existence. Like his first book, it is a collection of poems written in the grand, high style, which read as if they were translated into modern English from works written in the time of ancient Greece and Rome. An impressive feat, I think. Though there is no reference to the modern world in the poems, the thoughts and emotions that guide them are timeless, therefore the reader can relate to them. The book is called Existence, and its main theme is the question, what does it mean to exist? So it is existentialism in modern literature and philosophy which runs through the lines of the poems. The narrators of the poems may speak as if they lived in the ancient world, but the thoughts and feelings they explore are those that concern the modern existentialist writer. There is a longing for the ancient ideals of Beauty and the Infinite, heaven, deep understanding, truth, divine life, life beyond death, the ideal woman, the wisdom of the gods in the poems, at the same there is often a succumbing to the existential awareness of meaninglessness, futility, nothingness, isolation, despair. It seems that Christopher Manners finds solace in the literature and world view of the past but no comfort in the existential outlook of the present.
In one poem, called The Knight, a knight enters a hermitage, hoping to be taught wisdom by the wise hermit who lives there, to relieve his misery and loneliness, only to find it empty, leaving him to stare at an empty chair, an existential fable of the search for truth, which ends with the finding only of nothingness. In another poem, called The Ant Hill, ants busy in an ant hill are compared to the lives led by humans in a city, leaving the poet appalled by the futility and meaninglessness of human life. Through the lines in his book, he makes it clear that the old search for beauty, true meaning, the divine, the infinite is not in vain, however. Existence is a deep, thoughtful collection of poems, which would appeal to those with a love of poetry and philosophy, ancient and modern.
In one poem, called The Knight, a knight enters a hermitage, hoping to be taught wisdom by the wise hermit who lives there, to relieve his misery and loneliness, only to find it empty, leaving him to stare at an empty chair, an existential fable of the search for truth, which ends with the finding only of nothingness. In another poem, called The Ant Hill, ants busy in an ant hill are compared to the lives led by humans in a city, leaving the poet appalled by the futility and meaninglessness of human life. Through the lines in his book, he makes it clear that the old search for beauty, true meaning, the divine, the infinite is not in vain, however. Existence is a deep, thoughtful collection of poems, which would appeal to those with a love of poetry and philosophy, ancient and modern.
June 8, 2019
Existence
Christopher Manners
End of life sadness expressed in classic style poetry.
Christopher Manners
End of life sadness expressed in classic style poetry.
May 21, 2019
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]
In reading this lengthy cycle of poems, written in ABAB rhyming lines as well as occasional accents to mark which syllable receives the emphasis in the reading, so that one reads blesséd instead of blessed, a few qualities are very evident. For one, the author has an intense degree of interest in questions of sehnsucht [1], or longing, and with the pain of being exiled from paradise and burdened with the weight of transient glory from the deepest epochs of antiquity. Over and over again the author dwells on problems of despair and goes from place to place within the world of classics (or the pre-Christian realm of the Norse), facing with repeated examples of the same situation occurring over and over again, with the author longing for a return to childhood and its innocence or a enjoyment of the bliss of the infinite or the real enjoyment of romantic love, and yet for most of the book the author simply finds himself carrying the burden of myth and history on his shoulders as he longs for what he cannot have, an resents being an exile and an outcast on the face of a cruel earth.
Coming it at around 150 pages, this book is a fairly sizable collection of poetry of its kind, as most collections of works, especially thematically connected poetry cycles like one, are far smaller and far less ambitious. The poems come one after another, without any section breaks, and tend to cycle through much of the length of the book before the end provides greater insight and the possibility that the cycle of futility faced by the poet/narrator can be overcome. The author imagines himself alternatively as a monk and a knight, sees the Sisyphean task of life as being futile and pointless, and frequently battles against despair. There are numerous references to both Greek and Roman as well as Norse gods and to the myth and history of the Mediterranean world ranging from the time of the Roman kings in remote antiquity to the Roman Republic to the twilight of late antiquity to Renaissance Florence and Venice, for example. The author expertly weaves his own intense feelings in a clear poetic form with a staggering array of classical knowledge that demonstrates the author's deep familiarity with the subjects he writes about.
In reading this book, the reader is led into a variety of different sorts of areas of wondering. How was it that the author got to be so accomplished at the classics, and what connection is being drawn between Mediterranean and Nordic paganism. The last poem of the book as a whole, with its passionate desire on the part of the poet to connect with the infinite, appears almost like a gnostic desire to enjoy the fullness of heaven and to leave the struggles of the material world behind. It is perhaps unsurprising, though, with a title like "Existence" that this work would deal with heavy questions about what it means to exist and how it is that existence can be a heavy burden to those with a longing to overcome the frustrations and limitations and the feelings of solitude and corruption that one finds all too readily in this mortal life. One can easily wonder the extent to which the author's obviously high degree of understanding about myth and history only increases the burden and frustration of feeling as if life cycles over and over again with the same mistakes and the same unfortunate patterns and seldom reaches above violence and vain attempts at securing eternal glory to really reach the infinite that we all long for deep within our hearts.
[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
In reading this lengthy cycle of poems, written in ABAB rhyming lines as well as occasional accents to mark which syllable receives the emphasis in the reading, so that one reads blesséd instead of blessed, a few qualities are very evident. For one, the author has an intense degree of interest in questions of sehnsucht [1], or longing, and with the pain of being exiled from paradise and burdened with the weight of transient glory from the deepest epochs of antiquity. Over and over again the author dwells on problems of despair and goes from place to place within the world of classics (or the pre-Christian realm of the Norse), facing with repeated examples of the same situation occurring over and over again, with the author longing for a return to childhood and its innocence or a enjoyment of the bliss of the infinite or the real enjoyment of romantic love, and yet for most of the book the author simply finds himself carrying the burden of myth and history on his shoulders as he longs for what he cannot have, an resents being an exile and an outcast on the face of a cruel earth.
Coming it at around 150 pages, this book is a fairly sizable collection of poetry of its kind, as most collections of works, especially thematically connected poetry cycles like one, are far smaller and far less ambitious. The poems come one after another, without any section breaks, and tend to cycle through much of the length of the book before the end provides greater insight and the possibility that the cycle of futility faced by the poet/narrator can be overcome. The author imagines himself alternatively as a monk and a knight, sees the Sisyphean task of life as being futile and pointless, and frequently battles against despair. There are numerous references to both Greek and Roman as well as Norse gods and to the myth and history of the Mediterranean world ranging from the time of the Roman kings in remote antiquity to the Roman Republic to the twilight of late antiquity to Renaissance Florence and Venice, for example. The author expertly weaves his own intense feelings in a clear poetic form with a staggering array of classical knowledge that demonstrates the author's deep familiarity with the subjects he writes about.
In reading this book, the reader is led into a variety of different sorts of areas of wondering. How was it that the author got to be so accomplished at the classics, and what connection is being drawn between Mediterranean and Nordic paganism. The last poem of the book as a whole, with its passionate desire on the part of the poet to connect with the infinite, appears almost like a gnostic desire to enjoy the fullness of heaven and to leave the struggles of the material world behind. It is perhaps unsurprising, though, with a title like "Existence" that this work would deal with heavy questions about what it means to exist and how it is that existence can be a heavy burden to those with a longing to overcome the frustrations and limitations and the feelings of solitude and corruption that one finds all too readily in this mortal life. One can easily wonder the extent to which the author's obviously high degree of understanding about myth and history only increases the burden and frustration of feeling as if life cycles over and over again with the same mistakes and the same unfortunate patterns and seldom reaches above violence and vain attempts at securing eternal glory to really reach the infinite that we all long for deep within our hearts.
[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
July 1, 2019
An unusually large collection of poems focusing on a search for meaning in life by a writer homesick for the golden age of his youth and "longing to return to that radiant jubilation Divine." Themes of struggling, suffering, grieving, weeping, and yearning are repeated over and over through short poems set mainly within the rocky landscapes of classical Greece and Rome, inhabited by arbitrary and fickle gods. Even the tragic heroes, portrayed by sages and monks and kings and hermits, all fall short of escaping their languid oblations. The tale of "The Knight" teases the promise of some answers but the rug is pulled out from under his heart when he enters the house of a wise man only to find the hermit no longer there, and "staring blankly at his empty seat." Such a cruel trick to drop all of the characters equipped only with an existential mind into such a capricious setting.
Written in the ABAB rhyme scheme, I wondered how such a soul-wringing collection could maintain the energy to continue on through 148 pages. The answer was to be found in the appearance of hope, minuscule and rare at first, but eventually attaining supremacy, in the form of a woman. Who the woman is remains a mystery, but she sparks hope and courage where none was to be found and erases the narrative of despair (at least temporarily) with her radiance, perfection, and transcendence. She seems to be a mediatrix of grace for the writer, and her appearances increase as the collection progresses until just a glance from her bestows bliss and inspires the story-teller to write these final lines - "I must endeavor now to rise, journeying to my core deep, to ascend to the Highest skies, past all this suffering which I face, as I long for that momentous flight, finally with that lasting embrace, towards the Infinite to unite."
Splendid poetry and exploration of meaning. 4.5 stars
Written in the ABAB rhyme scheme, I wondered how such a soul-wringing collection could maintain the energy to continue on through 148 pages. The answer was to be found in the appearance of hope, minuscule and rare at first, but eventually attaining supremacy, in the form of a woman. Who the woman is remains a mystery, but she sparks hope and courage where none was to be found and erases the narrative of despair (at least temporarily) with her radiance, perfection, and transcendence. She seems to be a mediatrix of grace for the writer, and her appearances increase as the collection progresses until just a glance from her bestows bliss and inspires the story-teller to write these final lines - "I must endeavor now to rise, journeying to my core deep, to ascend to the Highest skies, past all this suffering which I face, as I long for that momentous flight, finally with that lasting embrace, towards the Infinite to unite."
Splendid poetry and exploration of meaning. 4.5 stars
September 7, 2019
Like the journey upon the sea of the soul, our psyche’s boat tossing and turning, riding the waves of life... This gift of life’s journey is eloquently painted by a masterful wordsmith... Come open the pages, the poems and set sail upon the waters of life...
August 5, 2019
A second book is always going to be tricky. You are not just competing with everything else, but you are also competing with your first book. I read Christopher Manner's first book some time ago, and I remember liking it. This new book, 'Existence', is very much like his first one in terms of style - but it is also an important development on it.
Where 'The Voyage' could in a sentence be described as a meditation on the journey of life. This journey being mythologised though a series of narrative poems, as well as poems that use the 'I' of the poet's eye, it was all around a vision of the world without God. Or at least, without a clear indication that God is out there. It was quite heavily influenced by Existential philosophy, or musings, rather like a ship on a sea, going in one direction with no indication that there's land on the other side of the horizon. As I remember, a few poems directly related to sea travel, but when land was found the experience left more doubt and Angst (the technical Existentialist term, not the teenaged angst) than the proceeding journey. My point is that the name of the book perfectly summed up the whole. This new book, 'Existence', if taken in the same vain attempts to address not just a 'voyage' through life, but the whole of it.
There's certainly an expansion of themes and subject matter here. Where many of the poems in the previous book took place in this world of islands set apart from each other, and lonely adventurers (which reminds me of the John Doone quote 'No man is an island' now I think about it) many of the poems here reflect on the heroic era of Ancient Greece and Rome. Or in a world that feels more peopled and closer together.
We have to ask why, and I think it is important. Chris's characters are always in an unhappy Arcadia, even those that do not take place in the classical era. But this isn't the point being made here. The point is that to us the era of Greece and Rome at their height are now distant cultural memories, sort of like our own now distant childhoods - it was a time when everything appeared to have meaning and purpose, and when you knew your place in the world. The gods watched over mankind, because ancient peoples simply could not imagine a world without any gods, but those days are long gone. Throughout the book there are references to a 'cherished empire' now lost and now being in 'ceaseless torment'. History and grace are things we are now banished from, as the poem 'Warrior of the North' suggests, and all that's left for us is to find a new way.
This book is brave in trying to address such topics, but that is not to say this book is without gods. There are also many references to 'God', or at least 'The Absolute' that holds meaning, and there is often a figure of a girl who gives it to the poet - in various contexts. What all this means is something for readers to find out for themselves, because as I'm sure every interpretation is inevitably going to be slightly different. Whatever interpretation we have, there is a sense that there is a greater truth to all things but it's being hidden from us, or not given. Maybe, like the titular character in the poem 'The Knight' when he enters the hermitage, only to find himself looking at an empty chair, the truth is before our eyes only we do not have the eyes to see it - we never know what it is we are actually looking at.
The structure and style of all of these poems are consistent, it is rhyming pentameter. This book would most likely appeal to people who are fond of Neo-Classical poets, especially Alexander Pope, and people who share some of the philosophical thoughts these peoples explore, and it's a worthy successor to Manner's first book. It is, like 'The Voyage', not a 'modern' kind of poetry collection, it does not play with a number of different forms and metre. This is, again, more in the vain of an A.E. Stallings than a Simon Armitage, and Manners has found a voice and style very much his own. And he is able to use it in a way that can be effective in drawing you into a heightened world. A place where 'Existence' can certainly be questioned.
Where 'The Voyage' could in a sentence be described as a meditation on the journey of life. This journey being mythologised though a series of narrative poems, as well as poems that use the 'I' of the poet's eye, it was all around a vision of the world without God. Or at least, without a clear indication that God is out there. It was quite heavily influenced by Existential philosophy, or musings, rather like a ship on a sea, going in one direction with no indication that there's land on the other side of the horizon. As I remember, a few poems directly related to sea travel, but when land was found the experience left more doubt and Angst (the technical Existentialist term, not the teenaged angst) than the proceeding journey. My point is that the name of the book perfectly summed up the whole. This new book, 'Existence', if taken in the same vain attempts to address not just a 'voyage' through life, but the whole of it.
There's certainly an expansion of themes and subject matter here. Where many of the poems in the previous book took place in this world of islands set apart from each other, and lonely adventurers (which reminds me of the John Doone quote 'No man is an island' now I think about it) many of the poems here reflect on the heroic era of Ancient Greece and Rome. Or in a world that feels more peopled and closer together.
We have to ask why, and I think it is important. Chris's characters are always in an unhappy Arcadia, even those that do not take place in the classical era. But this isn't the point being made here. The point is that to us the era of Greece and Rome at their height are now distant cultural memories, sort of like our own now distant childhoods - it was a time when everything appeared to have meaning and purpose, and when you knew your place in the world. The gods watched over mankind, because ancient peoples simply could not imagine a world without any gods, but those days are long gone. Throughout the book there are references to a 'cherished empire' now lost and now being in 'ceaseless torment'. History and grace are things we are now banished from, as the poem 'Warrior of the North' suggests, and all that's left for us is to find a new way.
This book is brave in trying to address such topics, but that is not to say this book is without gods. There are also many references to 'God', or at least 'The Absolute' that holds meaning, and there is often a figure of a girl who gives it to the poet - in various contexts. What all this means is something for readers to find out for themselves, because as I'm sure every interpretation is inevitably going to be slightly different. Whatever interpretation we have, there is a sense that there is a greater truth to all things but it's being hidden from us, or not given. Maybe, like the titular character in the poem 'The Knight' when he enters the hermitage, only to find himself looking at an empty chair, the truth is before our eyes only we do not have the eyes to see it - we never know what it is we are actually looking at.
The structure and style of all of these poems are consistent, it is rhyming pentameter. This book would most likely appeal to people who are fond of Neo-Classical poets, especially Alexander Pope, and people who share some of the philosophical thoughts these peoples explore, and it's a worthy successor to Manner's first book. It is, like 'The Voyage', not a 'modern' kind of poetry collection, it does not play with a number of different forms and metre. This is, again, more in the vain of an A.E. Stallings than a Simon Armitage, and Manners has found a voice and style very much his own. And he is able to use it in a way that can be effective in drawing you into a heightened world. A place where 'Existence' can certainly be questioned.
June 5, 2019
Tastes in poetry vary more widely than in most other mediums, I think. I find myself disliking certain poems, even by well-known poets, and liking others. At times, it's almost like my own poetic sensibilities shift from day to day. One day Byron feels unreadable, and the next, it's like I've hit the jackpot. Perhaps you know what I mean. There are few poets I turn to again and again. Usually, they are haiku poets, or specific poems that require little commitment.
However, I committed to trying this book and found the experience enjoyable. I may return to the volume again and reread it. It is of an unintimidating length, but the poems themselves are substantial. Clearly, the author has a deep love of poetry. There are references and (sort of) visions of classic myths, but the perspective is very intimate. While the lines feel formal, their content is easily digestible. There is enough to surprise any scholar of the classics without robbing the general reader of their reward. You can read them all in a row, or pick and choose - I think the experience would be much the same. The tone begins in dejection, a little like the scholar's laments at the difficulty of reconciling or accepting the juxtaposition of art and life, love and loss, and other struggles, until finally, the tone shifts toward greater understanding or fulfillment. While the occasional stressed rhyme might throw off a very casual peruser, this book demands a more detailed reading of certain of its poems. I would recommend The Voyage (The author's previous work) for a beginner in the realm of poetry, though I would not warn anyone away from either due to the valuable reflections they contain.
However, I committed to trying this book and found the experience enjoyable. I may return to the volume again and reread it. It is of an unintimidating length, but the poems themselves are substantial. Clearly, the author has a deep love of poetry. There are references and (sort of) visions of classic myths, but the perspective is very intimate. While the lines feel formal, their content is easily digestible. There is enough to surprise any scholar of the classics without robbing the general reader of their reward. You can read them all in a row, or pick and choose - I think the experience would be much the same. The tone begins in dejection, a little like the scholar's laments at the difficulty of reconciling or accepting the juxtaposition of art and life, love and loss, and other struggles, until finally, the tone shifts toward greater understanding or fulfillment. While the occasional stressed rhyme might throw off a very casual peruser, this book demands a more detailed reading of certain of its poems. I would recommend The Voyage (The author's previous work) for a beginner in the realm of poetry, though I would not warn anyone away from either due to the valuable reflections they contain.
August 14, 2019
Christopher Manners' book of poetry, Existence, explores the age-old question of 'why are we here?', as he struggles to reconcile the purpose of life and the aimless drudgery the journey of life can present, alongside the opportunity for wonder and personal growth. Manners also contemplates the direction humanity is taking. The poems are often allegories alluding to the glory and fall of ancient Rome, and the toils and victories of its mythical characters. Manners' use of poetic meter and end-rhyme fits the tone and subject matter of the book. The language is lyrical and flowing, and the characters' tales are compelling. The poems are about endeavouring to climb the mountain, pressing onwards and upwards with hope and trepidation, looking back with longing and trying to find peace or at least an understanding of being in the present moment or state. I recommend this book to those who can resonate with the solemn questions of existence in these poems, and who look to and believe in a higher entity or power responsible for their creation and existence.
August 17, 2022
A beautiful book of poetry that is inspiring and elevating. My favorite selections are “This Human State”, “Bellerophon”, “At Sea”, “The Cage”, “The Great Tempest”, and “Stunned.”
May 13, 2019
A captivating book, “Existence” provides a powerful expression of emotion. Depicting existential dread, these intense poems portray an anguished sense of meaninglessness, emptiness and despair. The sorrow reminds me of Leopardi, but Manners also turns to hope and spiritual solace. Some poems also address the joy and wonder of childhood, with appealing nostalgia. There are intriguing narratives involving the ancients and tales which appear to show the absurdity of existence. Though there is significant suffering, the pain leads to deeper searching and spirituality. Manners conveys emotion vividly, while also offering philosophical depth. Highly recommended.
September 27, 2022
Outstanding poetry.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews