Scorpyn Odes: Poetry

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.; Scorpyn Odes explores the iconic history of the scorpion in literature and mythology, as animal and constellation, demon, poison and guardian. What may be learned from a species with a four-hundred-million year history? How might evolutionary intelligence be a lens through which to consider various cultural maladies? Verse odes are interspersed with prose departures, and muse upon the many literal and metaphorical connotations of leaving. What must we celebrate, and from what must we depart in order to reaffirm a more sustainable humanity? What is the human equivalent to molting? What happens when disintegration of landscape becomes internalized? What depths of loss do we traverse in a time when toxicity challenges our ability to see our surroundings? How to build a house of hope with the potency to counter symptomatic forgetfulness? This work explores the possibility of departure as locomotion or energy source, travel and incantatory momentum--; Provided by publisher. Review Quotes: "The mysterious power of the scorpion, both animal and constellation, informs the complex emotions of wrenchingly ongoing departure in this beautiful collection of odes to distance, absence, connection, and memory." --Marcella Durand, poet, "AREA"Biographical Note: Laynie Browne is an award-winning poet and novelist and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and at Swarthmore College. Her work has been published in "The Norton Anthology of Postmodern American Poetry" and "Ecopoetry: A Contemporary American Anthology." She is the recipient of a Contemporary Poetry Series Award, a National Poetry Series Award, and two Gertrude Stein Awards for Innovative American Poetry. She is the author of "Lost Parkour Ps(alms)"; "Roseate, Points of Gold"; and "The Scented Fox" and a coeditor of" I'll Drown My Book: Conceptual Writing by Women."Publisher Marketing: This collection explores the iconic history of the scorpion in literature and mythology, as demon, poison, and guardian. What may be learned from a species with a 400 million-year history? How might evolutionary intelligence be a lens through which to consider various cultural maladies? Verse odes are interspersed with prose departures and muse upon the many literal and metaphorical connotations of leaving in these poems. What must we celebrate, and from what must we depart in order to reaffirm a more sustainable humanity? What is the human equivalent to molting? What happens when disintegration of landscape becomes internalized? What depths of loss do we traverse in a time when toxicity challenges our ability to see our surroundings? How do you build a house of hope with the potency to counter symptomatic forgetfulness? This work explores the possibility of "departure" as locomotion or energy source, travel and incantatory momentum.

Contributor Bio:  Browne, Laynie Laynie Browne was born and grew up in Los Angeles. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, and Brown University and was awarded The Gertrude Stein Award in Innovative Poetry three times. She is the author of a novel and nine collections of poetry, most recently LOST PARKOUR PS(ALMS) (Presses Universitaires de Rouen, 2014), ROSEATE, POINTS OF GOLD (Dusie Press, 2011), THE DESIRES OF LETTERS (Counterpath Press, 2010), THE SCENTED FOX (Wave Books, 2007, winner of the National Poetry Series), and DAILY SONNETS (Counterpath Press, 2007). She currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons, after having spent periods in her life in New York City, Seattle and Tucson, Arizona.