“In
her third collection (after Slice of Moon), Dower invests the most ordinary
moments with a significance that doesn’t feel strained. “Dawn cracks me open
like a clam,” she proclaims in “Another Morning. “Am I alone/ pretending it’s
you pushing me// out of sleep, or us together, a team half waking.” And when the
situation turns serious, she doesn’t become grim but reveals the passion that
underpins many of her poems: “From our kisses, obliterate it with desire,” she
says of the end of the world, “. . . locked in an emergency embrace.” A poem on
natural disasters concedes that “life changing decisions will be made” yet ends,
“it’s only a cleansing for the paradise that can lie ahead,” and many of the
poems resonate with that same determined energy. Dower paints scenes nicely
(“Santa Ana winds lifting bones from the earth”), and even an encounter with a
raccoon on a Los Angeles byway is invested with magic, as the speaker imagines
the creature a cursed prince or princess looking for someone to break the spell.
VERDICT Throughout, Dower maintains a fine level of craft and reverberant
feeling. A satisfying collection for most readers.” --Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
*Poetry from Last Train to the Missing Planet featured in O, the Oprah
Magazine
“These poems speak in the voice of an old, trusted friend who knows you, who has
come to visit and remind you of who you are and what a life is all about. They
speak not of the highs and lows, but about the grey space between tragedy and
tenderness, memory and loss, fragility and perseverance―that space where the
soul and the truest self live.” --Richard Blanco, Presidential Inaugural Poet
“What a pleasure it is to settle into Kim Dower’s latest collection. Dower’s
poetry creates a quiet space around itself, full of worldly, humorous insights
into life as it is.” --Janet Fitch
“In
her third collection (after Slice of Moon), Dower invests the most ordinary
moments with a significance that doesn’t feel strained. “Dawn cracks me open
like a clam,” she proclaims in “Another Morning. “Am I alone/ pretending it’s
you pushing me// out of sleep, or us together, a team half waking.” And when the
situation turns serious, she doesn’t become grim but reveals the passion that
underpins many of her poems: “From our kisses, obliterate it with desire,” she
says of the end of the world, “. . . locked in an emergency embrace.” A poem on
natural disasters concedes that “life changing decisions will be made” yet ends,
“it’s only a cleansing for the paradise that can lie ahead,” and many of the
poems resonate with that same determined energy. Dower paints scenes nicely
(“Santa Ana winds lifting bones from the earth”), and even an encounter with a
raccoon on a Los Angeles byway is invested with magic, as the speaker imagines
the creature a cursed prince or princess looking for someone to break the spell.
VERDICT Throughout, Dower maintains a fine level of craft and reverberant
feeling. A satisfying collection for most readers.”
