Rummaging in the Attic, Differentia Press (2010)

73 pgs.

I was first acquainted with Constance Stadler's poetry almost two years ago. From my very first read, her work immediately intrigued and inspired me. I will admit, with pure admiration, that she continues to do so even now. Her rich, complex, and sophisticated language has become a sort of trademark of her work, however, her words take an almost hypnotic rhythm that is, quite simply, easy to capture as one's own thoughts, one's own heart; a pleasure to unashamedly revel in.

Her latest book title, Rummaging in the Attic, seems to describe Stadler's poetry quite remarkably. By digging a little through the dusted off beauty and the deep yellowing smell of memory, one can find themselves in Stadler's state of true emotional honesty. While reading this book, I came to the realization that this was an important work, not just for Stadler, but for her readers as well. Her loss, her guilt, her joy, her heartbreak are not just presented as words, stripped, on a page. The poems are constructed meticulously, given a certain edge of mystery, and then drenched in raw emotion.

Rummaging in the Attic is divided into three parts: "to Love," "Sojourner," and "...towards 'Colorado'." These three individual journeys meld nicely into one solid body of work. At the beginning of her book, Stadler proposes to her readers, "What does it mean to 'journey'? When we 'leave' what do we take with us? Why? When we 'arrive' what do we really 'find'?" I may not have solved these mysteries through reading her work, but I feel I did come closer to finding the answer.

In her poem "Homage," Stadler explores the idea of a journey with another:

Cobblestones bruise thin soles,

We walk in silence, a seeming meander

Into medieval corridors that beg

For living lovers.

We, steeped in

The miasma of moonstrewn ancient aqueduct

This eternal canal

Thick with tourist disregard

And other brown promises

Beholding nothing

In conjoined gaze

Of watered dim.

Such twinned, effulgent empty

Would seize ecstatic squirrels

And stem the coos of fountain mated pigeons.

We, however, are a different breed.

Two meet these streets,

Tomorrow.

This poem, one of my personal favorites from the collection, is a showcase of Stadler's talent and ability. In a seemingly simple poem about two lovers on a walk, she uses such words as "bruise," "silence," "disregard," and "empty," to convey the difficulty and the complexity of a relationship, or that 'journey' that two people must take together. Where does this journey take our two lovers? We are not quite sure, but we care for them, feel for them, and embrace their plight.

By the end of this collection of Stadler's poems, the reader begins to feel her optimism. The last portion of the book, "...towards 'Colorado'" is about discovery. The reader feels that Stadler is not only venturing toward a new place, but also a new sense of self. In her poem, "'Colorado,'" she lets us know that she is well on her way:

I left the coffin colored streets

I left my identity of rags

I laughed at every inadequacy

and for Stadler, the journey continues.

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You can read Rummaging in the Attic for free by visiting Differenita Press (http://www.differentiapress.com)

Constance Stadler has been writing, publishing, and editing poetry from the ‘prehistoric’ epoch of print journals to modern e-times. She was a former editor of South and West and is currently a contributing editor to several zines. She has published over 1,000 poems and three chapbooks in her ‘first manifestation’ as a poet and has recently released her first two chaps in 20 years, Tinted Steam (Shadow Archer Press) Sublunary Curse (Erbacce) a full manuscript, Paper Cuts (Calliope Nerve Media) and a collaborative work (with Rich Follett), Responsorials (NeoPoiesis Press).

Her most recent work appears in such 'zines as BlazeVox, ditch, ken*again, Pen Himalaya, Rain Over Bouville, Clockwise Cat, Unlikely Stories 2.0, Hanging Moss, Neonbeam, and Gloom Cupboard. A Pushcart Prize nominee, she has been ‘Featured Poet’ for the Guild of Outsider Writers, Counterexample Poetics and The Poetry Warrior.