Civilization

Author: Elizabeth Arnold

Publisher: Flood Editions (2006)

Civilization is Elizabeth Arnold’s second volume of poetry. In deft yet emphatic syntax, these poems move from politics and history to an intimate gesture, from ancient fragments and architectural facades to a father’s face. The layers she excavates in the process are both archaeological and psychological; at the limits of civilization we find both silence and archaic force, “the white-noise granulated light, a sand-storm whiteout.”

“Elizabeth Arnold’s high-tension lines cross a vast space—astronomical, historical and personal—a space expansive and annihilating, whether measured in light years, epochs, or by that vertigo felt when those close to us leave us out of what they see. These spare and unsparing lines, taut with a formidable restraint, vibrate to frequencies that her almost preternaturally acute perception allows us to share.”

–Eleanor Wilner