Conjure

Starred review from September 21, 2020
Pulitzer Prize winner Armantrout (Wobble) offers a glimpse into her visionary inner world in her stunning 16th collection. Using language that is deceptively unadorned, Armantrout elevates the simple to the sublime. Her lines and stanzas are short, and statements like “A thing// must be recognizable/ in order to be/ a thing” reveal layers of meaning. Yet as intellectually penetrating as Armantrout can be, well-placed witticism and funny non sequiturs abound, invoking, for instance, “a Harpo Marx wig/ of virtual/ adjectives.” Romantic attachment is given a surrealist treatment in “My Love,” which ends with the evocative suggestion: “Let our eyelids/ lie flat// and spread/ like lily pads// beside themselves/ on a murky pond.” In veiled allegorical references, Armantrout ventures into the political, as in “Where Will You Spend Eternity,” in which she posits a choice between a God that could perform miracles but chooses not to, and the devil: “We’re riveted/ by the Hell Show.// The devil plays a huckster. What will he come out with next?// Demons banished for dramatic effect/ are brought back to lobby// for poisoning children.” Armantrout’s verse is precise, pliant, even playful, which explains why she’s both popular and critically respected. This deeply insightful collection has broad appeal.

November 1, 2020

"Where is the link/ between kindling/ and kin?" asks Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Armantrout in her latest collection (after Wobble), which is suffused with a sense of connection--and of what happens when connection is lost ("If you aren't my mother/ or my son, / who are you?"). Writing after the birth of two granddaughters, Armantrout displays focused tenderness ("Stroking her cheek, I'm drawing// mirror image arcs/ in the baby's brain") while decrying the despoiled world they have entered ("Turns out/ the mummy's curse/ is real.// "You pump thick death/ out of the ground/ and burn it"). Not unexpectedly (this is, after all, Armantrout), such thoughts turn metaphysical ("So the problem we pose/ is how to create an intelligent/ agent/ and then prevent it/ from destroying this world?"). And it all links up: things tie together ("Strand. String") as we're tied to family and the consequences of our actions ("We were born yesterday/ We're sorry"). VERDICT An elite poet who challenges readers, Armantrout presents what could be her most accessible book, a probing delight that would be a solid starting point for newbies while satisfying her loyal readers.

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