Born Again

Johnson calls attention to the performative capabilities of language, showing that even the most ethereal philosophical ideas can be dramatized using the resources inherent in poetry. This formally dexterous collection positions itself as the “performance of a tableau that expresses adulterated instinct.” Presented as an extended sequence of hybrid texts, including lineated poetry, flash fiction, and essayistic prose pieces, the work is unified by its ongoing exploration of writing and thinking as embodied practices. “I extend beyond the body with strings attached,” Johnson writes. As the book unfolds, readers see that language begins in the body and, as a result, never fully transcends it, despite being “continuously in orbit.” At its best, Johnson’s writing reveals how text, as a material medium, can be brought to bear on what have heretofore been conceived of as purely theoretical questions regarding faith and desire, among other things. Yet the collection resides mostly within the realm of ideas, and the language may seem too abstract for some readers: “Hunger can burn into power/ I have the power of seduction/ Men are the head but I am the neck.” Here, as in much of the collection, ambitious philosophical discussions lack grounding in tangible imagery. Though the philosophical underpinnings of Johnson’s work are alluring, readers may wish for some familiar objects and sensory details of everyday life. (July)