Variations on Dawn and Dusk
Acting as poetic records of light, the poems in Variations on Dawn and Dusk follow the sun as it warms, cools, colors, and shifts the space of Robert Irwin’s untitled (dawn to dusk) in the desert of Marfa, TX. Built on the footprint of the town’s old hospital, Irwin’s permanent installation is a remarkable structure with walls, windows, and screens that both capture and are taken over by the sun’s changing light. Through this deeply engaged ekphrasis, Dan Beachy-Quick uses language to participate in the overpowering elegance of Irwin’s structure. The poet’s fervent observations lead us in cycles of meditation, moving with the light that slides through the surfaces of the installation. Here, the very foundation of our vision—light—forms the vocabulary from which these poems are built.
Building from Irwin’s use of rhythm and structure, the poems in this collection are constructed with an architectural framework. Rhythmic procedures inversely link the first and last words of the first and last lines of each poem and tie the number of lines to the number of syllables in the first line. These structures form a pattern, a thoughtful consistency through which we are invited to move and meditate with each variation of light.
 
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Variations on Dawn and Dusk
Acting as poetic records of light, the poems in Variations on Dawn and Dusk follow the sun as it warms, cools, colors, and shifts the space of Robert Irwin’s untitled (dawn to dusk) in the desert of Marfa, TX. Built on the footprint of the town’s old hospital, Irwin’s permanent installation is a remarkable structure with walls, windows, and screens that both capture and are taken over by the sun’s changing light. Through this deeply engaged ekphrasis, Dan Beachy-Quick uses language to participate in the overpowering elegance of Irwin’s structure. The poet’s fervent observations lead us in cycles of meditation, moving with the light that slides through the surfaces of the installation. Here, the very foundation of our vision—light—forms the vocabulary from which these poems are built.
Building from Irwin’s use of rhythm and structure, the poems in this collection are constructed with an architectural framework. Rhythmic procedures inversely link the first and last words of the first and last lines of each poem and tie the number of lines to the number of syllables in the first line. These structures form a pattern, a thoughtful consistency through which we are invited to move and meditate with each variation of light.
 
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Variations on Dawn and Dusk

Variations on Dawn and Dusk

by Dan Beachy-Quick
Variations on Dawn and Dusk

Variations on Dawn and Dusk

by Dan Beachy-Quick

Paperback(1st Edition)

$13.95 
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Overview

Acting as poetic records of light, the poems in Variations on Dawn and Dusk follow the sun as it warms, cools, colors, and shifts the space of Robert Irwin’s untitled (dawn to dusk) in the desert of Marfa, TX. Built on the footprint of the town’s old hospital, Irwin’s permanent installation is a remarkable structure with walls, windows, and screens that both capture and are taken over by the sun’s changing light. Through this deeply engaged ekphrasis, Dan Beachy-Quick uses language to participate in the overpowering elegance of Irwin’s structure. The poet’s fervent observations lead us in cycles of meditation, moving with the light that slides through the surfaces of the installation. Here, the very foundation of our vision—light—forms the vocabulary from which these poems are built.
Building from Irwin’s use of rhythm and structure, the poems in this collection are constructed with an architectural framework. Rhythmic procedures inversely link the first and last words of the first and last lines of each poem and tie the number of lines to the number of syllables in the first line. These structures form a pattern, a thoughtful consistency through which we are invited to move and meditate with each variation of light.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781632430700
Publisher: Omnidawn Publishing, Inc.
Publication date: 10/15/2019
Edition description: 1st Edition
Pages: 48
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Dan Beachy-Quick is a poet and essayist and the assistant chair of the English Department of Colorado State University. He has published six books of poetry and is a Guggenheim Fellow.

What People are Saying About This

Katie Peterson

“In Variations on Dawn and Dusk what’s spoken is almost sung, and what’s sung is quickly lost, but what remains is a trace of presence as political as it is spiritual, reminding the reader that we’re constituted by what passes through us, what we’re open to. . . . But what a space, lit with such generosity and heart! It is aspirational, it is hopeful, it is not sentimental. It has a truly counter-cultural music that makes use of hums and whispers and silences. As I read Variations on Dawn and Dusk I almost felt as if my body unfroze. It simply delivers light.”

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