Beginning and ending in Clarence Major’s atelier, My Studio demonstrates how art can influence our perception of the world, prompting “all the parts [to] coalesce into a cohesive whole.” With precise and engaging imagery, Major contemplates the spaces we occupy and the “beauty in everyday things” from the familiarity of his studio. “This is more than a room, ” he observes. “It’s an unimpeded mental vista.”
Major harnesses both humor and seriousness to investigate a wide range of human experiences. In “A Tragedy Indisputable, ” he considers the funeral of a young boy, and the bewilderment and confusion of the crowd, whose “allegiance to logic and reason [is] now in perpetual sway.” In another poem, he paints the picture of a serene day interrupted by “the hammer’s sympathy for the nail, the chatter of ghosts in the bedroom.” In rethinking the relationship between poetry and the world of visual art, Major crafts an intricate and insightful collection, full of passion and inventive language, in which everyday life becomes an opportunity for inward reflection.
About the author
Originally from Atlanta, prize-winning poet, painter, and novelist Clarence Major is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California at Davis. He was a 1999 Bronze Medal National Book Award finalist in poetry and received the 2016 PEN Oakland Lifetime Achievement Award.
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