MAPMAKER - 7

In summary, let me say clearly: Mapmaker of Absences is a terrific book of poems. And though it is a first book, Benet's voice here is not that of a newcomer; rather, the language is so rich, the tone so well modulated that you would think her an old hand at arranging words and lines and stanzas. Benet surprises with the turn of her lines and the turn of her phrases, with the fullness of her understanding and the strength in her wisdom. Hers is a book I will happily add to the shelf of those I keep close to hand, for frequent reference and on-going sustenance. She is a poet I am happy to welcome to the circle of poets who care about the world we inhabit and the language we use to speak of what we find.

Welcome, Maria M. Benet, and thanks for adding the lilt of your distinctive voice to the chorus of American poets.

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*Mapmaker of Absences by Maria M. Benet. Sixteen Rivers Press, 2004. $15. Available from Sixteen Rivers Press, PO Box 640663, San Francisco, CA 94164-0663. You should probably include a couple dollars extra to help cover shipping costs.

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Comments

[Dave]

Thanks for this, Tom. I know just how much work is involved in compiling such a thorough review - wow! I loved all the quotes and will definitely put the book on my to-buy list. I was also intrigued by your description of Benet's four approaches to composition, in part because I wouldn't have suspected you of having such analytic tendencies! And I'm wondering if i've ever written a successful poem that didn't fall into one of these categories...

[Tom Montag]

Hi, Dave--Have I laid out the archetypes of all poems? Hard to believe that. Yet something like Vachel Lindsay's "The Congo" seems an exception, in terms of conception.