port of call

Description

Port of Call describes a metaphysical journey at the dawn of the 3rd millennium. Time blurs, and unsettled relationships mirror a world of heightened disconnection and hope. In a spare and lyrical form, poet/performance artist Davida Singer creates the long breath of a journey to eight destinations: “millennium”, “florida”, “montreal”, “dementia”, “long island”, “vermont”, “new york” and “taos”. Time blurs as we meet past and present lovers, a mother with dementia and revisit her roots and the loss of a father. Recent backdrops — 9/11 and global warming — mirror personal frailty; a fractured pelvis and unsettled relationships become metaphors for a world of heightened disconnection. Dreams are infused with a seer raven, the future is dicey and hope lies in ordinary moments captured and rekindled by the heart.
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“There’s much to admire in Davida Singer’s strong new book Port of Call—the staccato beat of New York City, the snowy fields of Vermont, where vertigo and the ephemeral live side by side in a flashback with 9/11,
sequoias, and “cosmic rift/ kaleidoscopic.” Language is a springboard,
offering judgment and choice, and metaphor is both autobiographical and historic, all movingly bearing witness to her time and ours.”
—Philip Schultz, Pulitzer Prize Winner in Poetry

“Singer’s keen eye masterfully splits punctuated moments of love and loss, hovers above them, and gives wings and lightness to even the darkest of emotions. These poems are full of heart and hope. There is a sly wisdom here, and I am happily the wiser for having come to know her rich, incisive, generous words.”
—Cusi Cram, Playright and Author of A Lifetime Burning

“Davida Singer’s port of call is a delight. In her chronicles of one woman’s life at the turn of the millennium, she includes us all.”
—Jan Heller Levi, Poet, Author of Skyspeak

Poetry : American – General
Social Science : Lesbian Studies
Social Science : Women’s Studies – General