Savage Machinery by Karen Rigby




Savage Machinery
by Karen Rigby
Finishing Line Press, Kentucky
$14.00
New releases and forthcoming titles


Savage Machinery opens with a poem that somehow manages to be invigorating, strangely beautiful and soothing all at the same time. Bathing in a Burned House startles – and it is the first of several very good poems in this 16 poem chapbook. There is a lightness, ease of language – a capturing of sorts, of that fleeting shadow of true Beauty in Bathing, as well as in several of the 16 poems included in Karen Rigby's new chapbook.

The poems employ deft sonics and delicious imagery, all while leaving the the Reader with an uneasy discomfort, a sense of Truth and something I do not find nearly enough in contemporary poetry, the desire to return to the poems again and again. The poems unfold with each read, from “The Story of Adam and Eve” inspired by piece of illumination by Boucicaut Master straight through to the “woman on Forbes" (a line from the poem Sleeping on the Buses), the poems travel time effortlessly remaining intelligent, thought provoking and accessible.

In a current poem world where the “I” often overpowers any chance of real poetic experience for the Reader, Karen Rigby seems a comfortable channel letting the voices of many flow to the page without a hint of arrogance, be it in Edward Hopper's Women, Norma Desmond Descending the Staircase as Salome – even Bread, Borscht or Plums. Savage Machinery very pleasantly surprised this reader, the poems linger and call you back.

For more information about Karen's poetry: Karen Rigby