A Possible Landscape

by Maureen Scott Harris

Maureen Harris's first volume of poetry evokes "a possible landscape," where the stories that subtly shape us blend with the moments that we are. Here is an Eden where Eve longs for the serpent's "green quiver," his "sibilant caress," where a snake tires of his lover "wearing/the same skin day-out, day-in." The poems in the first section of this book are sharp new takes on old stories, at once angry, witty and thoughtful. With grace, compassion and sparkle, the rest of the book explores the self in the world of the late twentieth century, the seeming contradictions of the third world, and the ordinary magic of an evening spent with friends.

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 1993

Reviews

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely and lyrical - I loved the series of poems about the much-maligned serpent from the Garden of Eden and those inspired by literary amd mythological heroines; some quite striking poems about the natural world really struck and chord too. I especially liked how much Harris gives us of herself and her reaction to the world. This is a rich and satisfying landscape to lose yourself in on a cloudy afternoon in May