Flight from the Mother Stone

by Lieberman, Laurence

• ISBN13: 9781557285850
• ISBN10: 1557285853
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-01-01
• Publisher: Univ of Arkansas Pr

Summary

In his newest collection of poetry, Laurence Leiberman widens the scope of his previous Caribbean collections by drawing attention to the small enchanting islands of the Grenadines, a chain running between Grenada and St. Vincent. These outposts, often frequented by sailors, are mainly off the beaten tourist tracks. Lieberman's poems bring to life all the overlooked people, hidden places, and indigenous but rarely seen animals which can be found on these islands.

These poems are as powerful as voodoo, full of energetic narratives in which Lieberman acts as observer while his characters -- native "Caribs" and friends -- guide us through the mystifying world of Guyana and the Caribbean: the planting of tree farms, local myths and religious sects, the daily crises of manual laborers working in the gold and diamond mines, and encounters with watras and harpy eagles.

Lieberman's lines are rhythmic and strong; voices swirl in and out of his stanzas. From Lieberman's own precise observations to his inclusion of Caribbean dialects, the language created here is deep

Table of Contents

I.
A Gift for Granddad Jacob	3	(14)
Work Chants of the Diamond Miner	17	(20)
Of Fangs, Swipes from the Earth and Air	17	(3)
The Lovesick Miner	20	(3)
Pork Knockers, a Case of Sinusitis	23	(5)
The Diamond Miner and the Mermaid	28	(9)
II.
Shore Derelict	37	(2)
Love Nips of the Boa	39	(2)
Jag	41	(2)
Voice to Voice	43	(2)
Robbing the Queenies	45	(6)
Wolf of the Skies	51	(5)
Possum	56	(5)
Purgatorio	61	(3)
Fern Heaven	64	(5)
III.
To Merge with Trees	69	(5)
The Warrior Priestess	74	(7)
The She Babe	81	(5)
Ether	86	(4)
Cactus Love	90	(8)
The Divi-Divi Trees, Forsaken	98	(4)
Dueling U-Boats: Bonaire, 1944	102	(5)
IV.
Epitaph to a Watering Hole	107	(3)
Moon Hole	110	(3)
Across the Starlit Dusk	113	(3)
Angel at the Helm	116	(3)
Bonaire Sextet	119	(3)
The Electrifier	122	(2)
Hardhat Limbo	124	(2)
Jawboners	126	(2)
Sassy Belle	128	(3)
Four Sisters	131	(4)
Grenada Birthday Song	135	(6)
V.
Steps of the Snake	141	(4)
The Sacredness of Fingers	145	(5)
Boiling Lake	150	(9)
Diving into the Stone	159	(1)
Flight from the Mother Stone	159	(5)
Wild Donkey	164	(2)
Earth Kissed	166