Recovered Body

I'm only beginning to explore Cairns' poetry and so far I like what I've read. He is thoughtful and yet possessed of a dry sense of humor that keep his poems from being weighed down. In this collection, the poems work together to nudge the reader towards a better appreciation of physical humanity. Cairns recognizes that the body is a good thing, and yet is painfully aware of how we seek to cover it up. My understanding is that Cairns goal in his poetry is to respect the necessary coverings of the body while trying to appreciate it anew-hence the title. I highly recommend this book.

As I began this volume, I prepared myself to be disappointed. The first section "Deep Below Our Violences" consists of poems that are well written with an interesting mix of topics and forms. However, they say little about the world and humanity that is not common poetic parlance. "Alexandrian Fragments" uses the burning of the library in Alexandria as its primary image; "Archaeology: A Subsequent Lecture" uses a dig; "Interval with Erato" a sensual/sexual encounter with the muse ...The second section "The Recovered Midrashim of Rabbi Sab", in contrast, shows a very inventive poet writing distinctive, meaningful prose poems. "YHWH's Image" presents an image of Time which pauses, twitches its tail, opens it's eyes while God creates creates humanity in his own image, a precise image molded in clay on God's body. "The Turning of Lot's Wife" shows the wife as the compassionate one: "... she could not turn her back on even one doomed child of the city, but must turn her back instead upon the saved." "In the Well of Joseph's Brief Despair" presents the view of the world from the bottom of the well - and its continuing effect on Joseph after his life was spared.The final section "Supplications" presents two strong themes - Hebrew vs. Greek thought patterns and the value of body. The topics supporting these themes include religious stylites (monks living on small, high platforms, the harrowing of hell, the death of the crucified man headed for paradise, Mary Magdalen ... in these poems the same formal strengths appear that appear in the first section. However, here Cairns more frequently has something uncommon to say.

I'm no convert, but I must say the charm and candor of these poems (not to mention the music and craft of the poems themselves) have me rethinking some of my knee-jerk dismissal of that old story. I'd heard he was a CHRISTIAN poet, but I didn't know he was also a POET. Amazing work.

Erotic, holy, erudite, and deeply moving! I love how Cairns engages both metaphysical mystery and sensual materiality in a single amazing moment, in a single turn of phrase--as in "Loves" when Magdalen observes "All loves are bodily, require that the lips part, and press their trace of secrecy upon the one beloved." I'd say the visionary has returned to American poetry.

Cairns' best work yet. Personal highlights from the collection: "Interval with Erato" "The Estuary" "Short Trip to the Edge." Sweet, special work.