Literary / Arts
Poet has found faithful companions among muses
Adriana Mooney, Bridgeport
Volume 29 Issue 7, 8 & 9 | Posted: September 26, 2015
Edward Butscher, in Sylvia Plath’s autobiography Method and Madness, makes a startling comment about “the inevitable loneliness attendant upon anyone foolish enough to sleep with a muse.”
In Genine Hanns’ Sleeping with Muses, the reverse is true; she has found faithful companions amongst her muses. This 74-page book contains 48 poems besides her innovative and imaginative artwork that crowns the cover. She is blessed with a sensual writing style, an intelligent use of metaphor and a wonderful ear for internal rhyme. Her poems are grounded and earthy as she digs deep into the soul of each piece with rich colourful imagery that is both tactile and sensory.
Edward Butscher, in Sylvia Plath’s autobiography Method and Madness, makes a startling comment about “the inevitable loneliness attendant upon anyone foolish enough to sleep with a muse.”
In Genine Hanns’ Sleeping with Muses, the reverse is true; she has found faithful companions amongst her muses. This 74-page book contains 48 poems besides her innovative and imaginative artwork that crowns the cover. She is blessed with a sensual writing style, an intelligent use of metaphor and a wonderful ear for internal rhyme. Her poems are grounded and earthy as she digs deep into the soul of each piece with rich colourful imagery that is both tactile and sensory.
Her main themes are erotica, humour, nature, love, loss and longing, myth, concern for the environment, compassion and respect for the creatures of this earth. The book begins with the concrete and erotic poem “Core Reaction” and ends with the titillating and humourous “A Poem in Burlesque.” A playful romp in the pastures of sexual creativity continues with “My Favourite Saying,” “Reflections on Peeling a Banana,” and “Nine Ways of Looking at a Penis.” These poems are fun!
An exploration of myth in “Black Orpheus,” “Calypso’s Island,” plus the creation of myth in “The Merman,” and “Shi Rain,” shows her knowledge of Mythology. Her admiration for nature is respectfully displayed in “River Song,” “Cathedral Grove,” and “Kwanatchay.” A spiritual connection between human and beast is celebrated in “A Deer at Dusk,” and “Through the Eyes of a Cat” as well as the cruelty we impose upon our creatures in “Jessica and the Black Swans.”
There are certain memorable lines that sink into my subconscious as I read this book. The bleak mood of isolation in “En Route to Westbank,” shows the poet’s struggle to breach the gap between Spirit and human when she says:
“…God no longer visits/only the poet's soul.” In “Cutting Away,” the shards of a lost relationship speak longingly: “Our words are lost stories; severed from anchors of the sea.” Her ghazal, “Portrait of Rio de Janeiro,” concerns itself deeply with environmental damage: “A species of tropical bird is dying/A rainbow fades on oil magnate sands,” and also in “Dreamstate,” with “palms blasted with chemical spray/and poisonous fruits, well laden.” “Tidebreak” speaks of our possible economical demise when: “…cities rise and fall/ under the power of gain and greed.”
“Twelve Ways of Looking at a Hummingbird,” is largely philosophical as in: “VI: A hummingbird lifts/from moment to moment/joining time to time,” and “IX: “When learning patience and silence/listen for the hummingbird/lighting on her flowery bough.” An economy of words creates a distinct water metaphor in “She is Rain,” with: “this summer drenched afternoon/I keep in a rain barrel.”
“Poem for a Winter Love,” describes a snow crystal as: “a seven-sided shape against my palm./Inside, a universe of its own.” The spoken connects to the tactile once again in “The Sound of Feathers;” with “down” a double entendre: “Each word of yours is a sweet bed/I lie down in.” This is her trademark; unique, intelligent and powerful imagery.
Genine Hanns has written four books, Cross-Eyed Virgin on a Tightrope, The Language of Water, her novel Innocent Origins of Sorrow, and Sacred Journeys, her book of angel poetry. A Retrospect on these works is in order, and hopefully will appear in a subsequent edition of ICN. For an in-depth description of her writing and art, visit her at www.wix.com/gkhanns.
Adriana Mooney is a Photographer and Writer living in Bridgeport, B.C.
Adriana Mooney, Bridgeport