Magdalene

Starred review from March 1, 2017

In her fourth collection, former New York poet laureate Howe (The Kingdom of Ordinary Time) creates a poignant portrait of contemporary womanhood through the persona of Mary Magdalene. Several poems evoke the figure of Magdalene's teacher or master, a nod to New Testament traditions, but the power of Howe's Magdalene is in the adoption of the mask of a woman neither virgin nor whore. Howe's style convincingly evokes the hesitations and shifting rhythms of conversation and of thought itself; the influence of C.K. Williams and C.D. Wright, with their appetite for epiphanies in a vernacular mode and their long, loping lines, is apparent. Howe has a distinctive acrid humor, and her best poems are apt to awaken a smile as well as bitter self-recognition. The first substantial poem in the volume, "Magdalene--The Seven Devils" has already been passed approvingly from hand to hand since its first appearance in American Poetry Review, and small wonder: it is the perfect digest of Howe at her best, a litany of flaws, neuroses, and gestures of bad faith certain to mirror the experience of many readers. VERDICT This newest collection aptly demonstrates the particular strengths of Howe's wry, bittersweet talent. Highly recommended for all poetry collections--Graham Christian, formerly with Andover-Harvard Theological Lib., Cambridge, MA

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