To Cleave - (Mary Burritt Christiansen Poetry) by Barbara Rockman (Paperback)

About the Book

In this stunning collection Rockman explores the themes of aging; our relationships to our bodies; marriage; and the surprises, griefs, and joys of motherhood.

Book Synopsis

In this stunning collection Rockman explores the themes of aging; our relationships to our bodies; marriage; and the surprises, griefs, and joys of motherhood.

Review Quotes

A contemplative exploration of how love is sustained in an incongruent world. . . . Rockman's ability to employ imagery, mood, and cadence creates a sense of mercurial motion.--Kimberly Bowcutt, Mom Egg Review

A notable and extraordinary collection showcases a major literary talent.--Midwest Book Review's Wisconsin Bookwatch

Her poems are pitch perfect and packed with the world in complex sentences.--Mary McCray, Big Bang Poetry

I can't imagine any reader coming away empty-handed. This is a book worth multiple readings.--Britton Gildersleeve, Nimrod International Journal: Blog

Its uniqueness is that it is . . . a portrait of a particular family and what it means to them to be where they are--in the land of enchantment.--Weekly Alibi

Rockman is faceted and prismatic and never explains herself. This book maps a marriage and the natural laws of time on scaffolding, with a private arena made public, showing what we all want to know about ourselves.--Washington Independent Review of Books

Rockman is one of the contemplative few who navigate the artist's way with equilibrium and poise.--Robert Kostuck, Concho River Review

These are fully developed poems by a mature writer who prods obscure details from the mundane.--Santa Fe New Mexican

To cleave, meaning both to cut and to cling, contains its opposites economically, and so within Barbara Rockman's luminous collection we find ourselves standing within the familiar fallen world: living to die, loving from a solitude we both long for and long to escape from. These are poems that cast a spell, an incantation, a divination, in language rich enough to eat, that calls out from the soul and returns us to our senses.--Marie Howe, author of Magdalene: Poems

About the Author

Barbara Rockman is the author of Sting and Nest: Poems, winner of the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award. She teaches writing at Santa Fe Community College and at Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families. Raised in western Massachusetts, she now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.