I recently picked up Charles Wright’s Caribou when I was at Powell’s in Portland (gosh, I love a good bookstore), and it’s been my traveling companion for the last few weeks. I’m definitely still finding my way in Wright’s verse, and “Crystal Declension” is my first foothold in Caribou. I appreciate Wright’s natural imagery and the way he connects our lifecycles with nature. Caribou is more than simply about birth and death; it’s about the perspective this recognition opens up. This is where “Crystal Declension” fits.
On Albert Camus's "Return to Tipasa"
I’ve been reading Camus for many years now. My appreciation for his writing continues to deepen. Recently, his lyrical essays have opened up to me. I had kept them at arm’s length because I fear that I already tend toward poetical romanticism, and they didn’t really fit what I wanted from Camus, the activist. Then something changed, or so it seems. I’ve been rereading “Return to Tipasa”* over the last year and enjoying its unfolding.