night thoughts: 70 dream poems & notes from an analysis
Praise for Sarah Arvio'sNight ThoughtsfromThe Washington Independent Review of Books"Who does not love the nighttime mind with its full disclosure, lack of censor—metaphor, innuendo, enchantment, intensity? Sarah Arvio breaks the codesthrough psychoanalysis and coverts her thoughts to poems. This is a book ofmutual discovery for the poet and reader, and most fascinating are the noteswhich untangle the unapparent worlds. Among the many successes here is thatArvio is too busy puzzling out psyche and prosody to think about moving tosensationalism—but sensational they are—all our horror stories of guilt andshame—memories that changed shape early on.This book is influential because it is one of a kind. With all the books writtentoday, one so unique with such an alternate view of poetry is almost a gamechanger in the field. There are 70 set pieces of exactly 14 lines. We know howimportant consistency is to hold tumult. Discipline is essential—and well done, itbecomes admirable. Never have symbols had so many faces, but what I like isthere are no overt moral questions which would stain the search, and Arvio’s lackof punctuation alludes to this. These are works of strong feelings ringed bymessages saying we can’t control our dreams but we can control the poem. Fromthe uncomfortable silence of the psyche’s tundra, Arvio wrings out her truth."three fishthe mother of the boy I will marryshe takes the knife & she turns it overon the cutting board beside the white fishlaying potato peels over the fisheach white fish is striped with one red stripethe red stripe marring its delicate fleshmy white dress is spattered with bright pink bloodall the white lace is spattered with my bloodshe hides the three fish from the wedding guestscovering them up with potato peelsshe’s hiding the fish from their fish shameshe doesn’t hide me I can’t hide myselfshe hides the three fish so no one can seecovering them up with potato peels