Reviews of
Feeding Ground
by Jessica Hartig
I have read Jessica Hartig's collection of poems, Feeding
Ground, several times in the last two weeks, and each
time I reread a poem, I discover something new. The poems
are both playful and serious, a prime example being "Notebook
Thoughts in Red." In this one poem, Ms. Hartig goes from
a bra hooked on a car antenna to the more serious matter of
her miscarriages. And yet this poem maintains a consistency
of tone as the author reveals the many layers of her identity.
That perhaps is the most enjoyable part of this collection:
the author gives us an uncompromising portrait of herself,
with each poem representing a different brushstroke. It is
as if Feeding Ground is a textured picture by an
impressionist painter. And just as is the case with such an
impressionist work of art, it is possible to enter these poems
and constantly see a subject from a different angle. That
is the richness of the book's style and content.
The poems also mix a soft sensuality with rich descriptions
of nature. This is most evident in "Mermaid's Tongue"
and "Swollen Tongue," but the reader will see both
of these elements intertwined throughout the entire collection.
And perhaps "Swollen Tongue" is my favorite poem
of the lot, for it seems to describe the author's very purpose
in committing her thoughts to paper. In this piece, she writes:
I taste it,
I tell you.
There is life
somewhere
beyond the silence.
It is this deeper life of dreams and intuitions, not always
accessible, that Jessica Hartig describes in Feeding Ground.
In this remarkable collection, the poet will enable you to
taste that deeper life as well.
~William Hammett
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Reader,
On your screen or in your hand you are holding or beholding
the first collection of poems by Jess Hartig. Lucky you!
As a reader on the Short Poetry Board of the Amazing Instant
Novelist section of America Online, I have been aware of Jess's
work for about 2 years. In that time, I have watched her grow
from a poet of promise with a distinctive voice to a poet
with that promise fulfilled.
What makes Jess's voice so distinctive is that her work is
at once overtly poetic and comfortably colloquial, without
compromising either ideal. Jess's poetry is replete with beautiful
imagery - much of it nature-based, particularly vivid with
sky images - no doubt at least partially a result of her living
in Arizona, a grandly dramatic state with skies to match.
There is an erotic sense in Jess's work as well, though it
is more implied than explicit. And her love of words as playthings
is evident throughout.
None of this distracts the reader from the realization that
there is flesh and blood and feeling in these poems along
with thought and compassion. Jess once described her life
to me as "a bad TV movie," yet one gets the inescapable
sense that while the star of this movie might seem reckless
at times in her journey through life, there is a very sane
and wise observer on this trip. Consider these poems as notes
taken from Jess's journey – a very personal, enjoyable,
occasionally dangerous, but always exciting. An interesting
journey through a life lived to the fullest. I enjoyed this
trip immensely.
~Carne Lowgren, Bishop, CA
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