Unfathoming

Unfathoming

Andrea Cohen’s poems search the shadow regions of yearning and loss, but they take surprising, sometimes meteoric leaps, landing in a place where brightness reigns. The voice in Unfathoming strives to upend the title: to both acknowledge mystery, and with wile and grace, comprehend it. “. . . Terse, linguistically distilled, Cohen’s craft is meticulous, as with her flashlight she prowls and probes, reporting on the emotional transactions of our lives that can only partially be seen. The poetic results are fiercely distinctive and moving.” (Tony Hoagland) “Andrea Cohen’s poems have always been rigorously crafted and deft in their insight. Along comes Unfathoming, which marks a new depth in her work. While these poems are engaged in our ancient struggle to find meaning in the wake of loss, they also nod to the foolishness that makes finding meaning itself the struggle. Cohen refutes the idea that rescue comes via intellect alone. As the poems in Unfathoming demonstrate, any deliverance comes when loss, explored, makes its way toward wonder.” (Alice Sebold) ANDREA COHEN’s previous poetry collections include Furs Not Mine, winner of the 2015 Golden Crown Award for Poetry, The Cartographer’s Vacation, winner of the Owl Creek Poetry Prize, Long Division, and Kentucky Derby. She directs the Blacksmith House Poetry Series in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Writers House at Merrimack College.