The Selvage

In eloquent poems about Ariadne, Theseus, and Dido, the death of a father, a bombing raid in Lebanon, and in a magnificent series detailing Masaccio's Brancacci frescoes, The Selvagedeftly traces the "line between" the "wonder and woe" of human experience. Keenly attuned to the precariousness of our existence in a fractured worldof "how little the world will spare us"Gregerson explores the cruelty of human and political violence, such as the recent island massacre in Norway and "the current nightmare" of war and terrorism. And yet, running as a "counterpoint" to violence and cruelty is "The reigning brilliance/ of the genome and/ the risen moon...", "The/ arachnid's exoskeleton. The kestrel's eye." The Selvageis the boldest evidence yet that Linda Gregerson's unique combination of dramatic lyricism and fierce intelligence transcends current fashions to claim an enduring place in American poetry.