Paperback: 84 pages
Publisher: Prime,US (20 May 2005)
ISBN-10: 0809500450
ISBN-13: 978-0809500451
Reviewer: Cara
Copy: Bought online
From the back of the book:
Nam Sibyllam quidem cumis ego ipse oculis meis vidi in ampulla pendere...
The Oracles of the ancient world spoke for the gods, they spoke for the future: but they could not speak for themselves. Here, their voices bubble up from the depths, enraged and sardonic, sorrowing and wild, finding themselves on new ground—scattered across the American continent, marking a path for the seeker to follow, from New England universities to Hawaiian volcanoes, from dilapidated factories to Chinatown kitchens, from the Old East to the New West...
In the T. S. Eliot poem, "The Waste Land", this quote is written in Greek and Latin as follows: Nam Sibyllam quidem Cumis ego ipse oculis meis vidi in ampulla pendere, et cum illi pueri dicerent: Σίβυλλα τί θέλεις; respondebat illa: ἀποθανεῖν θέλω. The translation generally associated with Eliot's poem is as follows: For with my own eyes I saw the Sibyl hanging in a bottle, and when the young boys asked her, 'Sibyl, what do you want?', she replied, 'I want to die' .
The quote refers to the mythic Cumaean Sibyl who bargained with Apollo, offering her virginity for years of life totaling as many grains of sand as she could hold in her hand. But, after spurning his love, he allowed her to wither away over the span of her near-immortality, as she forgot to ask for eternal youth.
From Wikiquotes
I don't often read poetry. Apart from W.B. Yeats, Wilfred Owen and a few classic poems such as Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott, If by Rudyard Kipling and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge, I tend to avoid poetry. English Literature classes at school had the unfortunate effect of making poetry seem a chore. But after reading Catherynne M. Valente's Oracles, I have been forced to reconsider my position. The beauty of her language combined with imaginative insights into women across the US make reading Oracles a luxurious treat.
Oracles: A Pilgrimage consists of a Prologue, nineteen poems, an Epilogue and an Author’s Note explaining the background to the collection. It is a short book at only 82 pages, but if you love language, story-telling and a touch of the macabre, this is a book you will cherish.
Valente takes us on a tour of the United States, from Anchorage to Kilauea, via Boston, Las Vegas, Taos, Seattle and other familiar places, giving us a glimpse into the lives of modern day Sibyls. From the industrial factories in Detroit, to the music clubs of Los Angeles; the iChing in Chinatown and the prostitute in New Orleans, women’s lives are depicted in metaphor and imagery. A range of references, from the classical Greek to the modern Tarot, give the poetry depth, adding to the mysterious nature of prophecy in its many guises.
This is not a book for everyone. It is a lyrical road trip across America, heavy with allusion and at times the message gets lost amidst the allegory. But if you appreciate the clever use of words to build complex feelings within a snapshot of a woman’s life, and want to read something that will fire your imagination, then Oracles: A Pilgrimage will provide you that in abundance. I find myself returning to the book, just reading a poem at a time to savour the beautiful language that Valente uses to weave her magic. It is dark and twisted in parts (Detroit), light and humorous in others (San Diego), all underpinned with the mysterious character of the Sibyl. I will treasure this book for years to come and am happy to say it has helped me overcome my schooldays prejudice towards poetry.
Plot: N/A
Characters: N/A
Style: 9
Overall rating 9/10
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