Renata Emther calls forth poetry as if it is surging inside her, waiting for her to conjure it from the very marrow of her bones. While this is her first collection of poetry, there are no false starts here, no hesitations. Instead, Emther brings forth brilliant, aching images that ring with authenticity.
Born in the Czech Republic, Emther carries in her an almost tangible sense of place. Her poetry evokes the soaring church spires and the heavy mysticism of Prague. She feels its absence keenly when she is away: “I am dying, I know-- / finding emptiness where your genius / loci used to keep me warm / during soul killing storms / with your roots firmly embedded in layers / of centuries and your stone arms / reaching up.”
She has the Slavic sense of history as well. Many of her works are dedicated to other poets, including a conversation through time with Czech poet Konstatin Biebl: “Like you, I am lost on three continents at the same / time. Like you, I bathe my body in iodine to survive / the poison that threatens to impale me on rose thorns. / Oh how we fear those rose thorns!”
Writing must be an excruciating ecstasy for someone whose work rings with such agonizing honesty. For make no mistake, Emther cannot mold her poetry into what others want; it demands to be released on its own terms, no matter how painful. “I carry two small versions of myself / across thin January ice while money / and hate are burning around us -- / I can barely breathe and you just hang / there on the wall-- / ~indifferent to the melting destruction / ahead of us~”
There is little here that is softly comforting, but Emther’s work offers a sort of purifying flame, a cathartic release. Her sense of imagery is magnificent, and her execution of language remarkable. This wonderful collection of poetry shines like a sharp blade. (Bookwire)
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Excellent review on an excellent collection of poetry. I have read and re-read 'Rimbaud's Echo', and each time, I experience the discovery of Renata's voice ~her poignancy, her vividness, her passion~ as a rebirth of every verse; for each time, a sentence (...a single word) will refresh and enlighten, will render me helpless or lift me up! There is no waste in this poetry, no margin for nonsense. Renata writes with her heart, out of experience (if there was ever 'personal poetry', this is it) and with a sense of beauty that is sad and, well, redeeming. Renata's up-close experience in three different continents, her academic education, her natural intelligence and talent, her sometimes raw/sometimes polished poetic voice, as well as her relentless pursuit of literary excellence make her one of the most formidable voices in the contemporary poetic universe.
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