In the Dark
The dark Stone alludes to in the title of her ninth book of poetry might be the advancing twilight of her failing sight, but then again, to be in the dark is to be unenlightened, ignorant of some necessary truth. Of course, the dark can also be consoling, and Stone does love the glimmering night sky. So she evokes many shades of darkness as she looks back on a long life, although there is little to indicate that this pithy, punning, fractal-dazzled poet is, in fact, entering her 90s. Except for her long perspective, and the keen awareness of how much the texture of our lives has changed over the decades without our becoming at all relevant to the churning cosmos. Stone appeals to the mind's eye and the physical ear, each word tested for ripeness like fruit, each a perfectly held note. Wry animal parables, spare and intense dramas, gorgeous nature lyrics, and bracing metaphysical musings constitute a clarion collection by a National Book Award-winning, and profoundly rewarding, poet.Donna SeamanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved