Sydney Lea's poetry of memory
After many years looking at life in all its idiosyncrasies, Lea offers his 12th collection. It's intimate and authentic.
In Review
No Doubt the Nameless
Four Way Books
In one of the poems in this collection, Vermont poet Sydney Lea describes the plight of one he calls a “winter poet”:
Perhaps this is more than anything else what unnerves him:
that memory’s his topic, that he can’t resist it
and seek out something more lively.
These words gesture toward memoir and their irony is poignant, as it is difficult to imagine finding something livelier than memory, at least the way Lea explores it—or allows it to explore him. This insight is marked by the wisdom of acute observation and studied recollection, traits that have marked Lea’s writing over a distinguished career.
