Burning of the Three Fires (American Poets Continuum, 124) by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont

Burning of the Three Fires (American Poets Continuum, 124) Reviews

• 
  C. Varn

  Beaumont's willingness to experiment, use different styles, and weave elements of myth and Magic-8 balls into her collection can leave the reader a bit dizzied. This can, at times, be an intimidating collection and the second half of the book is often aurally impressive but can feel opaque. This touches on her life as a girl, eating disorders, the Bride of Frankenstein, and dolls. Beaumont's control and use of analogous forms with monologues, prose poems, ekphrastic poetry, elegy, and catechism remain impressive.
• 
  Michelle Tooker

  My review...originally published on Elevate Difference.
  http://elevatedifference.com/review/b...
  
  Burning of the Three Fires marks the third collection of poems from Jeanne Marie Beaumont. Beaumont, who won a National Poetry Series award for her first book, experiments with form and examines the female condition in her latest collection. The result is a vibrant mix of poems that keep readers turning the pages and analyzing the words before them.
  
  “Girl on a Scale,” though not atypical in form, vividly depicts an eating disorder. Beaumont utilizes imagery and diction seamlessly to convey the “ungrowing” of one who is suffering from body image and eating issues. As the speaker enters a dream-like world, filled with icicles that masticate air and saplings, she imagines her daughter standing at the edge of her bed in the form of a seabird. “But birds eat constantly,” she thinks, realizing it can’t be the same girl who lets “food fall away/from her mouth.” Some of the most striking lines that offer a realistic image of eating disorders are: “Not a gain again./Ungrown so thin she slipped/between the bars/and hunkered/inside her cage.” As the poem concludes, the speaker wakes up and sees “it was she in the bed,/toward her/the IV dripped dripped/like an early thaw.” It makes for a powerful ending to such a haunting poem.
  
  The title poem, “Burning of the Three Fires,” gives readers the opportunity to do more of their own interpreting. While “Rite (to Combat a Bad Mood)” offers eight mostly nonsensical tips and observations that are uplifting and really do combat a sour mood.
  
  “Channeling Sylvia: 8-Ball (Interrogation)” is a verbatim transcript from a Magic 8-Ball conversation Beaumont had with Sylvia Plath. It is humorous and deviates from the typical poem in its question-and-answer structure.
  
  Burning of the Three Fires shows that Beaumont isn’t afraid to exercise her craft by experimenting with new forms of poetry. Her work offers a refreshing blend of phrases and images that intrigue and inspire.
  Written by: Michelle Tooker, October 27th 2010
• 
  Nw23

  I am glad about the presence of different styles and aesthetics in this collection, which shows the poet's willingness and awareness to take risk in her writing. Despite this, some of the poems (especially those in the second half of the book) seem like writing experiments and lack weight when they are read as a closing sequence of the book. Most of my favorite poems in the book are actually those writte in couplets. They show the poet's sense of control and craft.
• 
  Brendan

  Rating: 3 1/2
  
  Three sections: Trinket, Alteration of Girl, and Rites. A variety of formats and styles.
  
  Favorites:
  "Getting to Know You"
  "New Wives' Tales: Index of First Lines"
  "is Rain My Bearskin?"
  "As If Nothing Happened"
  "If You Wish to Be Removed from This List"
  
  On the subway platform a man held a book in one hand,
  A hook where his other hand should be.
  I tried not to look.
  - "Your Sign Is Digger"