Tania Hershman's Still Life With Octopus is an exquisitely-attuned
second collection, a philosophical and poetic interrogation of the
boundaries of animal and human worlds and the intimate nature of time,
being and joy. Exploring the slippage between the life of the mind and
the life of the body - in particular, those belonging to women -
Hershman wonders what might happen if we let go of our preconceptions of
both reality and language, taking nothing for granted and starting again
from first principles, with fresh eyes.
While trying to fathom our physical and metaphysical existence, Hershman
doesn't ignore the other forms of intelligent life we share our planet
with; her octopus is envisioned both as a creature within and alongside
us and as a way to consider our place as humans within a greater chain
of co-existence. Still Life With Octopus is a precisely observed and
open-hearted gift of a book.
