The Fables of the Fig: Collected Poems

Collected Poems of Lubena Nova."This collection is divided into eight thematic sections: Pandora's Box, Loved and Beloved, Emblem Poetry, The Four Seasons, The Four Elements, Family, Castaways, Substances of Magic. Each of these frames journeys into different spaces that are both physical and mental, and often indistinguishably so. They range over both the interior and exterior life, and, again, that distinction is also uncertain, as one flows into the other. I don't intend to talk at all about what might be called the 'subjects' of these pieces. They speak for themselves, they tell us clearly enough what they are 'about', and in any case, they are so deeply personal that in many cases I would feel uncomfortable commenting on the sentiments they articulate. But irrespective of the particular subjects of these poems and of the various sections into which they are divided, from the intensely intimate to the more outward looking of 'The Castaways' group, they all fall into the category of poetry, and often within its most august traditions."- Professor Bruce Johnson