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A review by dracoaestas
The Small Door of Your Death by Sheryl St. Germain
4.0
An incredible experience. Sheryl St. Germain captures grief and loss so vividly and painfully (I find one of the back-cover blurbs especially accurate: Tim Seibles says that she attempts to “look straight into the eyes of Loss without blinking”). As heart-wrenching as this book is, it’s also very brave. She spends a lot of time with her loss.
In particular, I’m interested in the theme of identity and nonhuman environment, how we entangle those together. It’s a sort of subplot that comes up in several of St. Germain’s poems. She and others relate themselves, especially physically, to the natural world around them in illuminating, striking ways. I loved the way St. Germain explored embodiment and environment and identity, how she dove into all the overlaps and layers of those concepts in such a physical, beautiful way.
In particular, I’m interested in the theme of identity and nonhuman environment, how we entangle those together. It’s a sort of subplot that comes up in several of St. Germain’s poems. She and others relate themselves, especially physically, to the natural world around them in illuminating, striking ways. I loved the way St. Germain explored embodiment and environment and identity, how she dove into all the overlaps and layers of those concepts in such a physical, beautiful way.