The Still Position: A Verse Memoir of My Mother's Death

Barbara Blatner. NYQ Books (SPD, dist.), $14.95 trade paper (120p) ISBN 978-1-935520-23-8

Poet and playwright Blatner (No Star Shines Sharper) chronicles the last five days of her dying mother's life in a simple, straight-forward, and heartbreakingly poignant collection. The poems are structured as a countdown, grouped by days: "with four days/ to live in, pleasures/ are few." Her poems document the "steepening cheekbones" of her mother's complexion and other depictions of deterioration from "mild alcohol-related dementia" while delving into the complexity of family relationships—Sadie (her mother's caretaker) and her husband Crow play prominent roles along with Blatner's sister, brother and husband. Set in upstate New York, nature serves to show the mind's preoccupation: Blatner writes, "a hawk/ is flying./ and I am thinking:/ it doesn't matter/ that you neglected us/ got drunk at us/ charmed us/ divided us." Blatner's portrayal of grief is so successful—universally and specifically—that at times it's hard to sit with. (Apr.)

Reviewed on: 04/18/2011

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