The latest book of prose poems by one of America's premier philosophical
poets. For the title of her newest collection of prose poems, Rosmarie
Waldrop adopts a termblindsight used by the neuroscientist Antonio R.
Damasio to describe a condition in which a person actually sees more
than he or she is consciously aware. This is one reason, explains
Waldrop, for using collage: joining my fragments to other people's
fragments in a dialogue, a net relation that might catch a bit more of
the 'world.' The collectionthe author's fourth with New Directionsis
divided into four thematic sections. The first, HÜlderlin Hybrids,
resonates against the German poet's twisted syntax, while using rhythmic
punctuation in counterpoint to sense. 'As Were, ' says Waldrop, began
with looking at the secondary occupations of artistsfor example,
Mallarme teaching English, Montaigne serving as mayor of Bordeauxbut
this soon gave way to playing more generally with particular aspects of
historical figures. The title section, Blindsight, is most consistent in
its use of collage, juxtaposing words and images to jolting, epiphanic
effect. Cornell Boxes, in contrast, has a formal unity, inspired by the
constructions of Joseph Cornell, each prose poem box composed in a
structure of fours: four paragraphs of four sentences each, with four
footnotes.
