Publisher's Synopsis
Poetry. THE CASE, besides being a mystery to be solved (where is the dead beloved, what happened to him?) and a literal case or box containing items (as with Duchamp's Boxes) pertinent to the larger work (the 'wedding'; or past and present lives) also strikes the reader as a private enclosure in which the poet confronts herself and what has happened. This space is sometimes theatrical or artifact-like, sometimes inclusive of the natural world; real objects and present experience can take part in the confrontation. Experience is encountered not described, the present is what it's like when it's happening even if it's pain. Though THE CASE is a private domain it isn't exclusive: the poet is alone thinking, yet others feel nearby in their warmth. THE CASE is appropriately muted, but not reticent. Its colors seem wisely chosen. It's full of light, ocean light, house light, the light of a shadow puppet show. The subject of the book isn't at all darkness, it's the peculiarly lit and peculiarly gracious space in which rituals of loss take place.--Alice Notley
