Synopses & Reviews
To my mind, what distinguishes Marchants work is his willingness to take a hard look at human suffering while maintaining his unflinching, delicate tone.” The Journal
house that floats
on a muddy river in spring-time flood,
house like a human head on the surface,
house with a boys face, turned up.
from House on Water, House in Air”
In The Looking HouseFred Marchants new collection of poemsthe poet lays out a map of human suffering, from wars within the psyche to wars that rage across the contemporary landscape. These intense, innovative lyrics stir and disturb, remaining aware of the way history bears down upon us and makes us responsible for the consequences of our choices. Marchant maps the shelters, the precarious places” that give us refuge and teach us everything.” Such a place might be an open window at midnight in childhood, or the broken sill of a deserted hut on the coast of Donegal. In these poems a looking house” can just as easily be a locked ward, a barracks, a movie theater at midday, or that room in Rome where Keats lay dying. These poems may show us a broken world, but they also offer glimpses of survival and renewal, of trust and reconnection. Fred Marchant is the author of Tipping Point, which won the Washington Prize in poetry. He is a professor of English and the director of creative writing at Suffolk University in Boston, and he is a teaching affiliate of the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. The Looking House lays out a map of human suffering, from wars within the psyche to wars that rage across the contemporary landscape. These intense, innovative lyrics stir and disturb. Marchant maps the shelters, the "precarious places" that give us refuge and "teach us everything." Such a place might be an open window at midnight in childhood, or the broken sill of a deserted hut on the coast of Donegal. In these poems a "looking house" can just as easily be a locked ward, a barracks, a movie theater at midday, or that room in Rome where Keats lay dying. These poems may show us a broken world, but they also offer glimpses of survival and renewal, of trust and re-connection. "When the news repeatedly presents images of war, readers often find themselves hoping for cease-fire, or at least someone to lead them through the conflicts. Poet Fred Marchant does the latter in his fourth book, The Looking House, in which he explores literal battles as well as those of the mind and spirit. Marchant has a deep understanding of both. During the Vietnam War, he was one of the first Marine officers to be honorably discharged as a conscientious objector. That experience colors his poetry as much as do his acute powers of empathy and observation. Even during the darkest moments, he has the ability to make readers feel compassion. Such is the case with his opening poem, 'House on Water, House in Air.' In these lines, starkly beautiful, Marchant balances overwhelming pain with profound tenderness . . . Marchant, who directs the Poetry Center at Suffolk University in Boston, continues to actand writeas someone who doesnt just observe his surroundings, but subtly nudges readers to look below the surface. In 'A Place at the Table,' that means listening to peoples opinions and honoring their presence, understanding that, 'Later in your life this moment will return to you as a mote/ of dust that floats in on the spars of sunlight./ It will search every room until it finds you.' Marchant often provides apertureseven when describing a book read in childhoodthat allow him to connect with other people, despite their flaws or emotional wounds. Or he transforms a desperate situation into a 'looking house,' from which he can observe and record with palpable tenderness. Marchant's subject matter isn't easy. He doesn't flinch when describing an Iranian writer who has been tortured, a sister who is losing her memory, or the entrance to a prison, where people 'feel either you are in danger, or that you are the danger.' What makes these poems resonant, though, is that Marchant often sounds like a conscientious objector, not just a witness. He understands the difference between viewing and seeing things with unwavering clarity. At times, the reader can almost feel him standing at the edge of the room, watching with a knowing nod. This is especially true in the third section, where the intensity rises and risesuntil Marchant suddenly releases that tension by closing with two gentle poems . . . He's a poet worth exploring."Elizabeth Lund, The Christian Science Monitor "Fred Marchant looks at the toughest imaginable experience (conscience at war) and the most tender (a sister aging). He finds them joined, or joins them. The Looking House is a major work by a poet whose ear is exquisitely tuned to contemporary anguish and whose voice rings with judgment, confidence, and truth."James Carroll "'What did/we have that any god would want?' asks Fred Marchant. In these lean, passionate poems, Marchant tests illusions, tests faiths, and makes things hard on himself. Whether visualizing childhood (in which the father holds the son's hand tightly 'as if it were the cash'), or moments in adult life like leaving the Marines as a conscientious objector, or a contemporary Iranian exiled writer who has been tortured, or the 7th century B.C.E. Greek poet ArchilochusMarchant brings clarity, compassion and inventiveness to his task. These are true poems, tireless in finding ways to make truth feel true."Rosanna Warren "In a time of a historical nightmare, Fred Marchant manages to give us a lyrical impulse that consoles. Few American poets, these days, tell us the truth. But Marchant's new book gives us dwellings, tears, tenderness, flood, escape. In a time of lies and mediocre ironies in literature, here is the voice that is never afraid to say what matters. This is the poetry of home, yesbut the many doors and windows in this book first and foremost 'teach the heart how to be a heart.' I read these poems with joy."Ilya Kaminsky
Synopsis
"To my mind, what distinguishes Marchant's work is his willingness to take a hard look at human suffering while maintaining his unflinching, delicate tone." --The Journal
house that floats
on a muddy river in spring-time flood,
house like a human head on the surface,
house with a boy's face, turned up.
--from "House on Water, House in Air"
In The Looking House--Fred Marchant's new collection of poems--the poet lays out a map of human suffering, from wars within the psyche to wars that rage across the contemporary landscape. These intense, innovative lyrics stir and disturb, remaining aware of the way history bears down upon us and makes us responsible for the consequences of our choices. Marchant maps the shelters, the "precarious places" that give us refuge and "teach us everything." Such a place might be an open window at midnight in childhood, or the broken sill of a deserted hut on the coast of Donegal. In these poems a "looking house" can just as easily be a locked ward, a barracks, a movie theater at midday, or that room in Rome where Keats lay dying. These poems may show us a broken world, but they also offer glimpses of survival and renewal, of trust and reconnection.
Synopsis
“To my mind, what distinguishes Marchants work is his willingness to take a hard look at human suffering while maintaining his unflinching, delicate tone.” —The Journal
house that floats
on a muddy river in spring-time flood,
house like a human head on the surface,
house with a boys face, turned up.
—from “House on Water, House in Air”
In The Looking House—Fred Marchants new collection of poems—the poet lays out a map of human suffering, from wars within the psyche to wars that rage across the contemporary landscape. These intense, innovative lyrics stir and disturb, remaining aware of the way history bears down upon us and makes us responsible for the consequences of our choices. Marchant maps the shelters, the “precarious places” that give us refuge and “teach us everything.” Such a place might be an open window at midnight in childhood, or the broken sill of a deserted hut on the coast of Donegal. In these poems a “looking house” can just as easily be a locked ward, a barracks, a movie theater at midday, or that room in Rome where Keats lay dying. These poems may show us a broken world, but they also offer glimpses of survival and renewal, of trust and reconnection.
About the Author
Fred Marchant is the author of Full Moon Boat. During the American war in Vietnam, he was one of the first marine officers ever to be honorably discharged as a conscientious objector. He directs the Poetry Center and teaches at Suffolk University in Boston.