Cameo: Art, History, War, Beauty (and a Poetry Book Giveaway)

I take it to be a shortcoming of my suburban sensibilities, but I frequently have trouble with the concept of beauty existing in war, violence, death and destruction, and other seemingly tragic events throughout history.

Evidently I’m not alone, as this recent article by Yeuran Zhang in Duke University’s The Chronicle suggests. In it, Lt. Col. Peter Kilmer, assistant professor at the United States Military Academy, says:

…because the public generally views war only as violent, soldiers can hardly express the beauty…

I feel sure this is painfully true, and I’m humbly grateful this isn’t something I know firsthand. I’m also grateful we have art and literature to help us, soldiers and civilians alike, with such a duplicitous task.

It’s with that in mind that I introduce CAMEO, a debut collection of poems by Melissa Dickson Blackburn, published earlier this year by New Plains Press.

Cameo by Melissa Dickson Blackburn, from New Plains Press

The poems in CAMEO weave the complexities of family, Southern, American, and even world history in a striking, personal way. The first poem, “First Edition, 1924,” establishes a theme for the collection in its lines exploring “what we/own, what we know, and how long/we hold the things we receive.” From there Dickson Blackburn looks the past square in the eye, alternately taking on voices from history and exploring her own life:

In “George Manoa Hall,” an imprisoned Confederate soldier  – “I wear/the wind through August thunder, ride/my quiet song of delirium, and bathe/in each day’s hundred deaths.”

In “America,” a young slave woman, Julia Frances Lewis – “my song/fell to the rhythm of his coming/hoof beats and he swung me to his mare/in one course pull”

In “Lub-Dup,” one of my favorites – “This is the sound of the heart, over half/is the sound of turning away.” In a short space, Dickson Blackburn takes us from the heart’s chamber to the invention of the stethoscope, to the present day scope her son holds against her own chest, to a poignant ending I won’t give away here.

For fellow poets, it’s notable that many of the poems are 14-line, counted syllable creations which may be considered contemporary sonnets in some schools of thought. While many don’t adhere closely enough to traditional blank verse rules to be considered sonnets in my mind, they undoubtedly benefit from the author’s chosen constraints.

Dickson Blackburn is a visual artist with an MFA in studio art. She's also pursuing her MFA in creative writing.

From a reader’s standpoint, I enjoyed the poems’ numerous references to art and literature, although I have to admit that a few had me (educated in computer science, not the arts) scurrying to Google. A couple of poems in the collection confuse me, such as “Daughter-in-Law,” in which I can’t quite decide the relationship of the speaker to everyone else in the poem (Ann, Jerry, you, Mother Nell, and “his mother”). On the whole, however, these are well-crafted pieces that are a joy to read and re-read. I also very much enjoyed historical notes about several poems included at the back of the book.

While this collection is replete with Confederate soldiers, Nazis, Howitzers, deployed family members, stalled plane engines, and the lure of death, it finds balance in Southern accents, humor, candor, and beautiful phrasing and imagery, such as in  “What is Mortal Will Be Swallowed by Life,” based on 1 Corinthians 15:54, another of my favorites in the book.

In “Yard Sale,” the speaker confesses to selling a basket her grandfather made, a piece of her family history. Dickson Blackburn may physically rid of herself of family artifacts, but in CAMEO she holds history in a sweet embrace, and with demonstrated devotion to her craft that translates to acceptance – and maybe even unconditional love – for the past that’s formed us all.

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Leave a comment below to enter to win a free copy of CAMEO, graciously supplied and signed by the author. (New commenters have to be approved before your comments will show.)  Rules: Let’s spread a bit of literature love. In your comment, tell me a book (preferably poetry, but any genre is ok) you’ve recently read and enjoyed. The winner will be chosen by a random drawing on the evening of Tuesday, December 13th from all who have commented here or on my Facebook pages (including the Kory and Kelsey Wells fan page) by 6 PM CST on the 13^th. I’ll contact the winner using the email you provide to obtain your mailing address. And if you’re not the lucky winner, you can order your own copy of CAMEO from New Plains Press.