Thursday, October 05, 2006
Quark Soup (review) by Magdalena Ball
Magdalena Ball, Quark Soup (Warners Bay, NSW : Picaro Press, 2006) ISBN 1-920957-23-5 $7.
Science is not immiscible with poetry. Ms Ball reminds of this in many of the poems in Quark Soup. Throughout this chapbook, imagery of physics and astrophysics combine with poetic skill to create a memorable introduction to a young poet's career. And the result is well worth a further acquaintance.
This collection of twenty-seven poems starts well, with "Whorl". Here, the confluence of the themes of humanity, or life, and space combine. This is evident in the lines
The whorl
where superfine hair grows
like one of those spiral galaxies
for example. The scientific themes and imagery continue: there is quantum physics, "Quantum Quirk", the moon and planetary bodies ("Moon Fountains" and "Venus Returns", and "Planet X") among other scientific imagery. One such poem that has a haunting effectiveness is "Aurora", whose following lines feel impressed into my skin:
The glowing red, green and purple curtain of light
waved above you like the God of your dreams
benevolent, present,
anything but impersonal.
As a result, Quark Soup works best with this scientific vision, albeit one broad enough to encompass biology and astrophysics. Those poems that work least well eschew this vision, and, unfortunately, work against the chapbook's unity. Thin collections of poetry, such as Quark Soup, rely on that unity of focus. That it hasn't been maintained here works against the collection as a whole.
Despite that, there is enough here worth a reader's interest. If Quark Soup is a flawed collection, it is not too flawed. The best poems reveal much about Ms Ball's qualities as a poet. She is well worth further acquaintanceship, and Quark Soup is an excellent introduction. It would be heartening to see further evidence of Ms Ball's abilities as a poet. As she works towards a full-length collection, and even beyond, it is worth your time to maintain an eye on her career. She holds promise; Quark Soup is evidence of this.
Quark Soup can be purchased here:
http://www.compulsivereader.com/html/images/quarkindex.htm
Science is not immiscible with poetry. Ms Ball reminds of this in many of the poems in Quark Soup. Throughout this chapbook, imagery of physics and astrophysics combine with poetic skill to create a memorable introduction to a young poet's career. And the result is well worth a further acquaintance.
This collection of twenty-seven poems starts well, with "Whorl". Here, the confluence of the themes of humanity, or life, and space combine. This is evident in the lines
The whorl
where superfine hair grows
like one of those spiral galaxies
for example. The scientific themes and imagery continue: there is quantum physics, "Quantum Quirk", the moon and planetary bodies ("Moon Fountains" and "Venus Returns", and "Planet X") among other scientific imagery. One such poem that has a haunting effectiveness is "Aurora", whose following lines feel impressed into my skin:
The glowing red, green and purple curtain of light
waved above you like the God of your dreams
benevolent, present,
anything but impersonal.
As a result, Quark Soup works best with this scientific vision, albeit one broad enough to encompass biology and astrophysics. Those poems that work least well eschew this vision, and, unfortunately, work against the chapbook's unity. Thin collections of poetry, such as Quark Soup, rely on that unity of focus. That it hasn't been maintained here works against the collection as a whole.
Despite that, there is enough here worth a reader's interest. If Quark Soup is a flawed collection, it is not too flawed. The best poems reveal much about Ms Ball's qualities as a poet. She is well worth further acquaintanceship, and Quark Soup is an excellent introduction. It would be heartening to see further evidence of Ms Ball's abilities as a poet. As she works towards a full-length collection, and even beyond, it is worth your time to maintain an eye on her career. She holds promise; Quark Soup is evidence of this.
Quark Soup can be purchased here:
http://www.compulsivereader.com/html/images/quarkindex.htm
# posted by Phillip A. Ellis @ 10:06 PM 
