Tether

Graceful and resonant new work by a lyric poet at the height of his skill. "Like something broken of wing, lying there. Other than breathing'srise,catch, release, a silence, as of some especially wounded animal that, nevertheless, still is conscious, you can see straight through the open eye to where instinct falters because for once it has come divided" --from "Chamber Music" In the art of falconry, during training the tether between the gloved fist and the raptor's anklets is...
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Graceful and resonant new work by a lyric poet at the height of his skill. "Like something broken of wing, lying there. Other than breathing'srise,catch, release, a silence, as of some especially wounded animal that, nevertheless, still is conscious, you can see straight through the open eye to where instinct falters because for once it has come divided" --from "Chamber Music" In the art of falconry, during training the tether between the gloved fist and the raptor's anklets is gradually lengthened and eventually unnecessary. In these new lyric poems, Carl Phillips considers the substance of connection -- between lover and beloved, mind and body, talon and perch -- and its the cable of mutual trust between soaring figure and shadowed ground. Contemporary literature can perhaps claim no poetry more clearly allegorical than that of Carl Phillips, whose four collections have turned frequently to nature, myth, and history for illustration; still, readers know the primary attributes of his work to be its physicality, grace, and disarming honesty about desire and faith. InThe Tether,his fifth book, Phillips's characteristically cascading poetic line is leaner and more dramatic than ever. In the art of falconry, the tether between the gloved fist and the raptor's anklets is gradually lengthened during training, until it is eventually unnecessary. In these new lyric poems, Carl Phillips considers the substance of connection--between lover and beloved, mind and body, talon and perch. Contemporary literature can claim no poetry more clearly allegorical than that of Carl Phillips, whose four collections have turned frequently to nature, myth, and history for illustration; still, his readers know the primary attributes of his work to be its physicality, grace, and disarming honesty about desire and faith. InThe Tether, his fifth book, Phillips's characteristically cascading poetic line is leaner and more dramatic than ever. "Passionately austere, [Phillips's] poems restore to us that curious admixture of formal regard and casual speculation."—Rita Dove,The Washington Post Book World "[These poems are] intimate because [they are] interior, because of the eroticized energy driving so many of them . . . Piqued, stimulated, challenged, [the reader] feels grateful for what is overheard as this disciplined mind wanders, grateful for the lyric that outstrips all diversionary maneuvers."—Carol Moldaw,The Antioch Review "Immensely magnetic . . . Phillips's poems argue for unsparing, inspired examination of that tethered falcon, the soul."—Carol Muske-Dukes,Los Angeles Times Book Review "Possibly—probably—Carl Phillips articulates the ineffable hesitation of love better than other contemporary poets. Certainly The Tether forces us to think about everything that surrounds what is said—the silences, the nuances, the half-formed questions, the contradictions, and the assertions that need, of necessity, to be qualified almost as soon as they are uttered. These are 'poems in the act of becoming.' Maybe this is love's truest language."—Judith Kitchen,The Georgia Review "[Phillips writes] batter-my-heart provocations worthy of John Donne [that are] subdued to a still, mature reverence."—The New Yorker "[These] poems have a rare sensuality, and they successfully marry a brooding and philosophical outlook with high lyricism and musicality."—Kate Moos, Ruminator Review "The music here is an admittedly cerebral one, and the poems are enjoyable, like late James, as much for the length and intricacy of their twistings as for the actual content. . . . Much of [this content] is passionately flourished. Many poems