Poetry
Out of Order
from the Foreword:
"The author is a distinguished scientist in the Yale medical school, but her knowledge ranges far beyond the limits of science and embraces all of humanist culture. I also know of few contemporary poets who can so convey the wonder of human existence so close to its terror, and in a voice intimate yet elusive in its authority—that edges towards the visionary. The highest intensity, among many intensities, is to be found in her volume Fragmented, a sequence of poems for her late husband. They are among the finest poems of mourning I have ever read. A virtuosity of form and technique matches the intensity of the emotion in a stunning lyrical sequence."
—Clive Bush: Professor & poet, King's College, London
from the Introductory Essay:
"Laura Manuelidis is not someone who writes verses — she is a poet by all the pulsation of her soul. There are some poets who have a subtlety, but don't have a passion; others have a passion but unfortunately at the expense of subtlety have lost all passion. She has a rare quality: her passion is subtle. I admire her lines: "If I were one stripe of a shirt / On the back of a man / Would I wrinkle Or would I smile / Between the angles of his scapulae?"
—Yevgeny Yevtushenko: Russian Poet
Samples from this book on web (journals) with links (Book is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc)
One / divided by Zero
Facets of nature, fierce lamentations, in search of gnosis and celebration.
Book available on Amazon & other sellers
Book samples:
Comment on poetry and medicine (The view from here)
Poem 1 sample:
Humped
Leaves night inside
Swimming to Oblivion
from the Preface:
At the first reading of Restless I saw the city and sparkling windows. I felt the city's gravitas and it made me happy....
Later, I simply asked myself what I still remembered. This is from someone who misplaces things by nature. I remembered these fragments, "Granite and Sequins". These two words unlocked countless images and emotions I felt when looking at the city at night. Granite is heavy and permanent and sequins are light and flashy. That contrast captures the complex visual image and emotional meaning I experience when looking at the nightscape in two words. Brilliant.
"Journey further than death" made me very uncomfortable (in Unfinished Paintings). I knew what it meant on first reading but then I had to ask what does this really mean and what are all of the ideas I would have to forget and accept to understand this idea? That made me afraid and mortal. The "sly brush of circular reasoning" also made me feel uncomfortable because you prefaced that with waiting to be better or for me it meant reaching dreams. I felt worried that with key words like Unfinished, Sly and Circular you were sending a powerful message that outcomes and plans exist on two separate planes......
Lastly, "Crawls through my being" (from Without Money). Wow. Those words truly express a defining type of love. It is complete, absolute and total.
—Kevin Lance Daniels: Painter