Incarnadine: Poems

Mary Szybist’s Incarnadine blew me away; it was thoughtful, honest, and considerate without being inaccessible. I had the opportunity to hear her read at Brigham Young University, and I was immediately impressed by her ability to craft language. I had read her poem “Girls Overheard While Assembling a Puzzle” prior to the reading, and was drawn to her ability to elevate the everyday and seemingly mundane into something extraordinarily thought provoking. The poetry featured in Incarnadine is no exception. There is a religious undertone to many of the poems – Szybist focuses on the Annunciation in all of its forms and interpretations – though she takes an unconventional and immensely refreshing approach to belief. Works such as “Annunciation (from the grass beneath them)” and “Annunciation as Fender’s Blue Butterfly with Kincaid’s Lupine” apply a naturalistic investigation to a religious experience. Szybist also explores spirituality in poems such as “The Cathars Etc.” in which she immerses the reader in history and presents intriguing questions. Many of her poems address grief, loss, and other sometimes-nebulous concepts with a clarity and humility that illuminates the commonalities we all share. One of my personal favorites was “Update on Mary,” in which Szybist offers a glimpse into the everyday, but by no means unimportant, aspects of her life. These observations range from the practical (her large collection of silver earrings) to the unexpectedly searching (beliefs she holds about herself). Though it is undoubtedly a personal poem, the ideas and tone are relatable. Overall, this is an excellent collection, and I would highly recommend it.

Back to my monkish 3am rising with this August ritual of poems #sealeychallenge book seven: INCARNADINE by Mary Szybist. Mary was one of my workshop mates at UVA and Iowa and a fellow student of Charles Wright. I remember her as if she wore blue velvet shoes and a blue dress everyday and was always standing at the edge of a meadow. She was to me the embodiment of a poet, full of visions. I felt always in awe around her and still feel that same awestruckness when I reread her books all these years later.

Mary Szybist’s second collection reaches for heaven through an imagining of the experience of Mary at Annunciation, and sometimes touches it with such lovely and simple language as:“Time to enter yourself. Time to make your own sorrow. Time to unbrighten and discard even your slenderness.”“…having bathed carefully in the syllables of your name,”“Now what seas, what meanings can I place in you?”There are times when the simplicity becomes merely prosaic and the collection is a bit uneven. Still and all, a worthy effort.

I bought this book bc one of the reviews said, if you only get one book of poetry a year, get this one. Sorry, it just doesn't do that much for me. I do enjoy a variety of types of poetry, my favorite contemporary poet being Sharon Doubiago, and all i can say is this book just doesn't hold my interest. I have gone to it several times and come away disappointed each time. It leaves a flat feeling. I'm sure she is a great poet but for me, her stuff just didn't reach out and grab my heart and my head.

The most exciting poet I've come across in years in terms of lyricism, imagery, blending spirituality and sensuality to address themes of love, beauty, truth, and mortality. So many different styles, shapes, and metaphors from a voice that speaks to readers from first to last poem; we get to know her, and a little of ourselves. The theme of "annunciation" goes beyond the traditional religious/biblical to the celebration of lovers and mothers, blueberries and fish eyes. You will love the book and the poet herself, a Mary in self-discovery who says "yes."

This book of poetry was a selection of our small local book group. It was the first time we had selected and read poetry. Though some of us were skeptical about what we had read and what it meant, the discussion around the poems was thoughtful and rich. In the end we were all glad that we had read this book.

I love Mary Szybist’s style, depth, form and insight. I really think her prose/poetry amalgam is the next wave in poetry. And I like the way she is able to juxtapose the tragic with the hopeful.

I love this book! I look forward to getting the authors other books in the future!

excellent

Mary Szybist’s beautiful collection gives us a Virgin mother ever present and immanent in the incarnate world. The kind of poems that inspire seeing with fresh eyes all that says ‘yes’ in the natural world. Her poems are a gorgeous and transcendent discovery.