The Dynamite Maker's Mistress, Poems by Nola Garrett
The poems of Nola Garrett's The Dynamite Maker's
Mistress are so energetic in their lines, so varied in
their subjects, and so intense in their emotions, that
one almost forgets that they are written in one of the
most stringent of forms: the sestina.
Praise for The Dynamite Maker's Mistress
"I cannot imagine a more difficult task than writing a
book of sestinas. Yet in The Dynamite Maker's
Mistress Nola Garrett has made the form look light in
her hands. For poets, the book is essential in offering
variations in form that seem natural and fresh. For
general readers, the book provides a surprising range
of voice and content, with a religious series and an
homage to Anthony Hecht being especially
memorable. A tour de force."-Kim Bridgford
"From its terrific title through the last poem, 'A Cadenza for Arnaut Daniel' (inventor of
the sestina), The Dynamite Maker's Mistress shows that the sestina, like the sonnet, is
capable of infinite variety. Even better, Nola Garrett demonstrates that this flexible and
demanding form is particularly suitable to the English language. Learned, witty, sexy,
lyrical, these poems tell their stories with great flare and passion in this very welcome
first collection by a talented writer."-Peter Meinke
"With heroic intelligence, these monologues and meditations portray the recurring
metaphysical predicaments imposed on each soul among its others, and also a grand
resourcefulness of being. Garrett's lithe ingenuity pitted against the sestina's seemingly
inexorable determinism challenges us all to undo the fates and elude the inescapable. This
is a poignant collection borne along on the burning fuse of imagination. Bravo!"-
Donald Morrill
About Nola Garrett
Nola Garrett is Faculty Emeritus of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She lives in
Palm Harbor, Florida, with her husband, Ronald. Her poems, Macedonian translations,
and essays have appeared in Able Muse, Arts & Letters, Christian Century, Christianity
and Literature, FIELD, Georgia Review, and Tampa Review. Her chapbook, The Pastor's
Wife Considers Pinball, won the 1998 American Poets Prize. She has received a
Residency at Yaddo, and Scholarships from the West Chester Poetry Conference and the
Bread Loaf Writers' Conference.
Order Information
The Dynamite Maker's Mistress,
David Robert Books, publisher.
ISBN: 9781934999455, paper, 84 pgs.
