"floating bones" is a migratory almanac, a drifting and lyrical meditation on home and belonging. Built with poems of ineffable sonic awareness and tender, hand-drawn sketches, floating bones follows a narrator who has left one home for another, just to find that the new home is unlivable. Reckoning with this new liminality, they discover ecstatic communion with the burgeoning natural world around them. This everywhere is gulls, foxes and owls; curmudgeonly herons at the shore and seals in the water—all of this life constantly slipping into each other, seeming to skip from realm to realm. The poems in floating bones are a spiritual dance with a nature constantly rebecoming something else, giving certainty to uncertainty. Diamond’s awareness of our temporality, our “tempo/rarily animate fragment(s)” of existence, turn this book into a revelation. floating bones is the sacred book by your bedside that you turn to before you sleep. In a time of housing crisis, environmental displacement and global uncertainty, Rae Diamond is a profound guide through the unknown future.
"floating bones" is a migratory almanac, a drifting and lyrical meditation on home and belonging. Built with poems of ineffable sonic awareness and tender, hand-drawn sketches, floating bones follows a narrator who has left one home for another, just to find that the new home is unlivable. Reckoning with this new liminality, they discover ecstatic communion with the burgeoning natural world around them. This everywhere is gulls, foxes and owls; curmudgeonly herons at the shore and seals in the water—all of this life constantly slipping into each other, seeming to skip from realm to realm. The poems in floating bones are a spiritual dance with a nature constantly rebecoming something else, giving certainty to uncertainty. Diamond’s awareness of our temporality, our “tempo/rarily animate fragment(s)” of existence, turn this book into a revelation. floating bones is the sacred book by your bedside that you turn to before you sleep. In a time of housing crisis, environmental displacement and global uncertainty, Rae Diamond is a profound guide through the unknown future.
This eclectic collection of poetry explores themes related to homelessness, the housing crisis, and “conceptions of belonging.” Part essay and part memoir, it raises questions such as does land belong to people, or do all creatures of this earth belong to the land?
An impressive vocabulary is deployed to catalog and convey a wide variety of observations and commentary on everything from “silver leaping fish,” “the dimness before dawn,” and “marble fireflies” to herons, sea gulls, gnats, and the meaning of “home.” Infused with a sparkling sense of wonder, the text effectively opens a window into the natural world and other marvels. The formatting is fresh and original and reinforces the theme of each entry. Sea gulls and other water fowl recur frequently, as do feathers, light, sky and sun.
The author’s ability to spin kaleidoscopic word pictures and convey emotion and insight at the same time is prodigious. Additionally, she skillfully sidesteps the temptation to beat readers over the head with the themes of her entries, relying instead on subtlety and finely drawn word pictures. Readers are thus gently encouraged to ruminate, ponder, and draw their own conclusions.
The print is sometimes small. This may pose a challenge for some eyes. Entries are often accompanied by exquisite and evocative illustrations. Readers will encounter some unusual formatting, such as upside down sentences that have been lined-through. These are put forth as questions for the reader in order to spur additional contemplation. It’s quite effective.
There are many strong entries in this intriguing collection. Stand-outs include helix of exhalations, wing through walls, and applause for the alone, and ashes ashes we all. I especially enjoyed end of summer, which captures the feeling and rhythms of summer as the season winds down. Dear reader is also quite clever as it extends an invitation to linger, read on, or step outside.
Toward the end, the author reveals some of her own back story, including being “unhoused in a land that once gave sanctuary to my homeless ancestors.” Also additional questions to ponder. This part is written in regular prose with standard paragraphing. The shift in writing style and formatting may be jarring to some readers. End notes and an index of illustrations with explanations are included. The writing is solid and thoughtful overall, but may be a bit too eclectic to appeal to a broad audience.
At less than one hundred pages, floating bones can easily be read in an afternoon. But this is not the kind of book you want to skip merrily through or skim at warp speed. This is a thoughtful and penetrating collection that’s meant to be sipped and savored slowly, like fine wine. There is much food for thought here. And many discoveries for the alert reader.
So if the mere notion of “poetry” makes you break out in hives or want to jump up and run screaming from the room, give floating bones a chance. It’s fresh. It’s thoughtful. It’s worth the time. Adult readers who enjoy reflective, evocative poetry and a glimpse into the natural world and beyond will appreciate this collection.
My Rating: 3.5