Dirt (Poetry Series Volume 4)
The most impressive aspect of McDougall's artistry is its invisibility. In simple lines she captures a sharply living moment: "You look up from leafing a magazine / and say something woven out of our years together / something only the two of us / would find amusing. / I think of this moment / as an incredible moth. / I want to keep it." The wordeconomyappropriately describes McDougall's style, for economy derives from the ancient Greek forhouseholder. And not only is the poet careful not to overspend words; she also draws her subjects from the most ordinary events and occasions. Household arguments, bedtime discussions, meals--in such mundane occurrences, McDougall finds vast hungers and driving compulsions. Her poems repay reading, rereading, and rereading.Patricia MonaghanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved