Etching the Ghost

by Cathleen Cohen

Poet and painter Cathleen Cohen artfully paints a compelling sequence of scenes and portraits encompassing joy, freedom, violence, trauma, and the challenge of facing mortality: one's own as well as that of lost or faltering beloveds. In Cohen's skillful hands, poems become an occasion for questioning - "How long will we last / as witness, as echo?" - and for cherishing what the speaker tries to "... hold then release / into brushstrokes." Cohen vividly depicts a search for healing and wholeness, promising, "If air shatters / into fault lines and shards / I will reach / to collect what flies out / and give voice." Cohen's book deftly weaves a multifaceted tapestry of lived experiences through poems that will break your heart and stir your soul.

Genres: Poetry

78 pages, Paperback

Published February 20, 2021

Reviews

[Kathy Barham]

As "a copper plate will yield/a rich intaglio print,/under the weight of the press," Cathleen Cohen's Etching the Ghost yields a rich collection of poems rendered sometimes under the weight of childhood and childhood trauma. Ultimately, painting provides Cohen a respite from or opportunity to process trauma or occasion for bearing witness to "dust drift[ing], tender gestures of a wrist." This book blends weight and lightness of touch and a lyrical blend of "what's dark" and "what glows."

[Jane Makransky · Rating 5 out of 5]

The delicacy and almost ethereal quality of Cathleen Cohen’s words are bittersweet counterpoints to the weighty subjects she describes. And that lightness only serves to amplify the power of her work. A beautiful and soulful compilation by the artist author.

[Monica Hurtado · Rating 2 out of 5]

I need to preface this by saying… I don’t think I was the audience for this book.

For those who are familiar with art, art process, and the joys and pains of mother hood, this may be a different experience for you. While the book certainly does great color work and does a wonderful job in building scenes through their prose, I just did not connect to it. I wasn’t entirely encapsulated by her prose and structure, but again, this could just be me not being the right audience.