Wesleyan Poetry Series

<P><B>Winner of the Commonwealth Club Book Award, Silver Medal for Poetry (1990)</B></P><P>In the title poem "e;Fortress"e;, the medieval walled castle is the stronghold in which the family dwells. There are stories here of people in the "e;fortresses"e; of the self, the city, or the natural world. </P><P>All these poems have in common a lyrical approach to solitude ("e;the only protection / against death/ was to love solitude"e;) and an ironical vision for which love of beauty and the longing for the world are the cure. Hillman combines the imagistic with narrative; in her poems lyricism wars with irony; the solitary noticing consciousness is in control because the observed world seems beautiful to the observer, great joy is possible despite the sense of difficulty or sorrow. </P><P>The language here is rich and elegant. Truth is relentlessly addressed.</P>