Another review, Heather Igert//rd
Ryan Deschamps
The FOCUS OF THE WHIMSICAL - the poetry of Heather Igert
The greatest criticism against what I have called "whimsical"
poetry is that it is generally unfocused. The content of whimsy is rarely
linear, and when it is linear it is full of interruptions. Even the
rhythm of the whimsical poem is interruptive, containing various double and
triple-stressed metric feet in the same line. The point of the
whimsical poem is not that there is no point, but that the points don't
matter, or are redundant. Even more precise, the point of the whimsical
poem is that the point of anything is worth poking fun at.
Heather portrays this well in her poem, _Gaea_
whisking brushes against Earth's canvas,
she wishes dew drops, reigns plenitude
upon her wounds. siphons minerals from
her veins and solemnly feeds her prodigal
named industry.
A poorly trained reader would quickly look at this excerpt and
say "what's the point." Of course, Heather would not answer because she
knows that she has already established an image in her reader's mind.
An image so clear that even though they may not "get it," they understand
nonetheless. The complexity of the rhythm is also obvious.
/ - / - - / / / -
- / - / / / / - -
- / - / / - / - - -
- / - / - / / - / - /
/ / - -
All of these aspects lead to the uncontrived message Heather offers us
here about nature. Heather is not trying to make a point. She doesn't
*mean* anything by what she is writing. SHe is merely painting the
picture in her reader's mind for them to figure out. If her reader
should try and fall into the trap of capturing "meaning" in her poems
they end up with a poetic "pie in the face"
watch the sinew rampant in the breeze -- floss
on a line after a kill. achilles was never
so proud. so undetected and yet so void
of glory. success.
Anyone interested in mythology is apt to become frustrated with Heather,
because Heather does not want to impress with her allusion, but instead
works the allusion into the mythological world she has created for
herself.
galatea woke in my place today and
stretched for her sculptor and his tools. and
i wound parts of me around my fingers until
we dropped. as if i were so malleable
to lose so soon.
Her Galatea and Achilles are not Greek, but instead live in a world
transposed from what Heather has imagined and what Heather has
experienced. She effectively sticks a capo on her poetic guitar while
involving myth in her poem. She knows that the use of Myth in a poem is
useless without soaking them in a good pot of relevance, but never fails
to effectively maintain the tune of her myths. This is a tricky task
since Greek Mythology is so often used in writing - often to the point of
cliche.
Although Heather's use of mythology is an identifying mark of her
writing, this is not what Heather uses to make her poetry effective.
just a shadow, she is more naked now than at
morning. in my mirror i see homonyms -- we lack
Her poetry shows no fear in attributing the symetrical to the humane (in
this case to associate a reflection with a homonym) nor does she fear
pouring a little opinion upon her situations.
she's probably going to walk the dog
today. gonna gather selfhood in the woods.
Igert's Voice is often a little cynical, but it never overrides the
beauty of her images and the delicious sound of her language.
blue, then green she liquors daises with
a maker's firm hand.
Does Heather's poetry classify under whimsical? This is hard to
decide. THe tone, language, and rhythm works for the whimsy-clad like
myself, but Heather conquers the criticism of being "unfocused" much
more effectively than many writers (including myself). This is mostly
accredited to her vivid imagery which stands above her use of mythology,
subtly imposing of opinion through voice, and her combining of the
natural with the abstract or symetrical as what makes her poetry
effective. Heather has no point to trade with her reader, only the
absorbing liquid of her imagination.
Ryan...
--
"Human beings make a strange fauna and flora. From a distance they
appear negligible; close up they are apt to appear ugly and malicious.
More than anything they need to be surrounded by sufficient space - space
even more than time."
- Henry Miller in "Tropic of Cancer"
Ryan Deschamps:
homepage - http://www.ccn.cs.dal.ca/~ac628/Profile.html -
email - ac...@chebucto.ns.ca -
**new** poetry page - http://www.ccn.cs.dal.ca/~ac628/cinquain.html -
___________________________________________________