Zoom Rooms: Poems

by Mary Jo Salter

The timeless and timely intersect in poems about our unique historical moment, from the prizewinning poet.

In Zoom Rooms , Mary Jo Salter considers the strangeness of our recent existence, together with the enduring constants in our lives.

The title poem, a series of sonnet-sized Zoom meetings—a classroom, a memorial service, an encounter with a new baby in the family—finds humor and pathos in our age of social distancing and technology-induced proximity. Salter shows too how imagination collapses time and in “Island Diaries,” the pragmatist Robinson Crusoe meets on the beach a shipwrecked dreamer from an earlier century, Shakespeare’s Prospero. Poems that meditate on objects—a silk blouse, a hot water bottle—address the human need to heal and console. Our paradoxically solitary but communal experiences find expression, too, in poems about art, from a Walker Evans photograph to a gilded Giotto altarpiece.

In these beautiful new poems, Salter directs us to moments we may otherwise miss, reminding us that alertness is itself a form of gratitude.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

96 pages, Hardcover

Published March 29, 2022

About the author

Mary Jo Salter is an American poet, a co-editor of The Norton Anthology of Poetry and a professor in the Writing Seminars program at Johns Hopkins University.

Salter was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was raised in Detroit and Baltimore, Maryland. She received her B.A. from Harvard University in 1976 and her M.A. from Cambridge University in 1978. In 1976, she participated in the Glascock Prize contest. While at Harvard, she studied with the noted poet Elizabeth Bishop.

From 1984 to 2007, she taught at Mount Holyoke College and was, from 1995 to 2007, a vice-president of the Poetry Society of America.

Salter has been an editor at the Atlantic Monthly and at The New Republic, and she is on the editorial board of the literary magazine The Common, based at Amherst College

Reviews

[Paula Hagar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had read the title poem, "Zoom Rooms," on-line and absolutely LOVED it. Zoom rooms were my life for nearly 2 years during the pandemic, and this poem so perfectly captured the beauty and foibles and humor of Life on Zoom. I read it over and over, and then picked up the book at the library, hoping for more of the same. Alas, I am sorry to say that I did not care for any of the other poems in the book. I didn't find them accessible and they just weren't up my alley.

So 2 stars just because this book included the title poem, but otherwise: these poems were not for me.

[George Siehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very rewarding selection of poems. The grounding of these works ranges from the fine-grained substance of reality--such as the still lurking pandemic--to things and settings with less familiarity.

The title poem, "Zoom Rooms," and several others explore the technology and experience that the pandemic brought with it. Other real life subjects include family, loss, grief, and remembering. With humor, at times, she touches upon the evidences of life changes that readers of a certain age will find relevant. "Last Words," and "Forgetting Names" are in that mood. "Man-Barbies" is a fine piece of seemingly light social commentary, until the barb in its ending. "Silk Blouse" is quite touching.

Ms. Salter, and her Muse, lead readers to those less known experiences in "Island Diaries" and "Eggs." Interesting exposures.

In "Mule Team and Poster," she examines one of Walker Evans photographs of the Great Depression. In doing so, she pays homage to the contributions of readers and viewers everywhere:
"and what you, viewer of photographs/ and reader of poems, made when you said/ 'how could people not see THAT?'--/ the layers you alone brought to it."

Our reading of this volume may contribute something, but we will carry away much more.

[Charles M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not her best collection but contains some poems reflecting deeply personal but universal experiences . In particular I was moved by poems about the serious illness of an adult child , the life and passing of a parent with dementia and the birth of a grandchild during the pandemic . She tries some new things and continues to write poems about artworks when the reader does not see the pieces . That was tedious in previous volumes and continues to be so But the poems about ordinary life are as strong as usual. Still a poet of great worth

[Chandra Marcoux · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up completely randomly to fill a reading challenge prompt that I had nothing else lined up for and ended up really enjoying it. It was published this year and has a lot of COVID/quarantine themes which I appreciated more than I thought I would going into it. The poems are mostly serious but still easier to swallow than a lot of other contemporary poetry I've read. I gave it three stars for overall enjoyability but nothing really striking or resonating. I liked it, but I don't believe it will stick with me.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I'm able to review poetry and other times it's difficult because the poetry collection doesn't really have a cohesive theme. Supposedly this collection was supposed to be about the pandemic experience and zoom meetings but I didn't feel it turned out that way.

My favorite poem in this collection was "Island Diaries" because it imagines a meeting between two of literature's most famous castaways, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Shakespeare's Prospero.

[Sarah Giragosian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Salter's poems, as always, are crafted with a dazzling patience and wit. Tender and funny, Zoom Rooms clips along with propulsive energy, but it also calls for re-reading. I gulped this collection down this first time, enchanted, but I look forward to re-reading and enjoying its subtleties and lapidary craftsmanship.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Salter has the ability to make you feel a part of the poem; as if you are there as an active participant. This is especially true of her poem, Jury Duty, as well as her title poem, Zoom Rooms, which is a series of seven sonnets that gives new meaning to the saying, "Art imitates life."

Well done!

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled to read this because I wasn't that into it or into poetry as a whole, but I am glad in the end that I kept with it (it is very thin after all) because the last section was my favorite. A bit easier to get ahold of.

[Reagan Kapasi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zoom memorial sounds awful

[Nicholas · Rating 2 out of 5]

🤢🤢🤢🤮

[Nicky Enriquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was perfectly applicable to today's post-pandemic world. Mary Jo made me laugh out loud (but also kind of want to cry).

[Melissa Boles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not always the right poetry for me (everyone is so different!) but there were some really beautiful pieces in this collection. Especially the final poem, “A Letter to Leena.”

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read Salter’s poetry since my college days, but I should have done so before now because she is still a terrific poet.

[amanda abel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Shallowreader VaVeros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent narration. There were poems I listened to over and over again.

Note: there is no audiobook option available ATM so the edition may be misleading.

[Nav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other than the theme of pandemic/isolation, it was a mixed bag (of style, etc).

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't usually read poetry unless it's job related, but this was part of my local library's summer reading challenge. My two favorites were "Scrabble" and "Italian Haiku".