Status Updates From The Mill: A Cosmos

"On Sirius" is, by far the best section of the book. It's a gentle, smoothly flowing prose poem, not entirely lacking disjuncture, but not as chaotic as some earlier sections of the book. It is a piece that is of a piece, well-put-together, but not stodgy. I can (and have) wrap(ped) myself up in it. It is comfortable, but not so cosy as to be uninteresting. I wish the whole book was like this section.

Here the narrative gets wobbly, teetering on the edge of coherence, threatening to fall into Dada at any moment. It's sometimes difficult to discern between playful intellectual brilliance and an utter collapse of reason. It's almost as if Kalischer weaves in and out of each, with no warning about what direction she is turning; blind curves ahead.

"The Island of Destiny, or Encounter with the Caliph" is the first truly coherent narrative of this work. I hope there are more like it.

Hmm. What seemed to start out as a staccato poesis has descended into pure Dada. I understand that makes the work "of its time," but that doesn't excuse near-incoherence. The introduction was so promising . . . Now . . . ???

As with every other Wakefield Press book I've read, the translator's introduction, this time by W.C. Bamberg, is worth the ticket price alone. It's an extremely evocative piece about this essentially unknown author: well-researched (with a hint of the historiography involved, even), captivating, sympathetic, and enlightening. This is the fine scholarship I've come to (unfairly?) expect from Wakefield.

there are memories over which silence alone can blossom.

It is difficult to say where the human begins and where the pig ends. A philosopher would have to decide.

‘Love flows over offense.’

‘The sparkle of the dew of longing is at its strongest before sunrise.’

‘Nothing connects stars as strongly as separation. In the moment of pure parting both are once again dependent on the great shared path.’

‘For some there is nothing beyond the First Commandment. Yes, nothing removes gods from the world like impudent anticipation. Instead of letting things mature you crush the seeds of future destinies.’