Heather McHugh

me begin with this disclosure: I've been a fan of Ms. McHugh's poetry since we went to high school together. In fact, we were both in the same 12th grade AP English class. From the beginning, Heather stuck me as fascinated with all aspects of words - their sounds and meanings but also how they shape our thoughts and perceptions as well as signify them.

In Hinge & Sign, I see that she's still fascinated with words but over the years she's learned to use them not just to dazzle us with her show more command of them but also to gently and sometimes wittily explore the same issues that have preoccupied so many great poets before her - the meaning of human life and its place in Creation. But Heather never pontificates. Instead, she gently probes among everyday thoughts and situations to find at least fragments of answers to some of our biggest questions. Indeed, her probing can be so gentle that it comes close to being over-powered by the magic tricks that she performs with language. But even when that occurs, the magic alone is worth the show. show less

Except for, perhaps, a little reservation about subject matter (for example, a poem about a hanged man with a death erection), this would be a good recommendation for a young person who needs to know that poetry can be fundamentally fun. McHugh’s poems often seem to be constructed in the same spirit that prevails when creating the crossword puzzle for the London Times. E.g. “My one/ and only: money/ minus one…” Words tremulously cling to their meanings, despite being deconstructed show more into some pretty curious contortions – “all history was fast repast, rewined, redowned!” There’s a bunch of sonic smackdowns, internal rhyme reminders, and consequential consonances – a thorough dismantling of staple words just off the shelf. Plus some formidable metaphors – as when a Fourth of July display is described as “practice / for an aneurysm.” My favorites include two poems called “songs for scientists”: one a meditation on the brain collection at Cornell University, the other an attempt to translate birdcalls into demotic English. show less

Poetry this clever can be a pain. But then McHugh has a heart too. The poems questioning God are my favorites. They remind me of a modern version of Cowper or is it Herbert? I would say if McHugh wanted to she could start a neo-metaphysical school of writing.

Heather McHugh is a master of the word in this book. She can follow all of the associations of a word (both literal and punning) and make them all work. I particularly admire her work for being able to be serious and funny at the same time.