No Known Coordinates

Poetry. From established poet Maria Terrone comes a collection that looks back over all the years of life in New York City and sees its rich depth and diversity. From the opening poem about the El to lush details of New York's outdoor life, Terrone asks through every scene: what matters here? Who would we be if we didn't work to fully perceive each other, and our world, in all its dizzying complexity? According to Rachel Hadas, this is a book "in which dreams, memories, and visions take on a ghostly power. Drawn to the past, Terrone misses nothing in the present - not 'squirrel click and sparrow peep, ' not a toy gun left in a garden, not a fellow subway rider's shoes. With poise and candor, her poems also acknowledge an uncertain future: 'I saw how light & dark/could shift into a new pattern and then/how that pattern could lift away.' In language of crystalline clarity, Terrone's lights and darks encompass fragility and toughness, trauma and wonder."Says Nicole Cooley, "Terrone explores reversals-'the world outside this window/like a photo's negative.' An urban street becomes a painting. A subway speeds from underground to an elevated track. A girl becomes a woman. A daughter cares for a mother. I love the way these poems bear witness to 'the long, slow erasure' of so much in our lives."

Pages: 92, Paperback, Word Works