Ordinary Light, by Cynthia Sharp, reviewed by Stephen Karr
What a magnificent and timely book of poetry Cynthia Sharp has written. Her first book, Rainforest in Russet, is a wonderful meditation on nature and its intersection with the author’s life. Ordinary Light expands on these themes with an introduction to the milieu of multiple intersecting crises that we experienced in the early 2020s, including the COVID pandemic and the 2021 heat dome in British Columbia from a very personal, eco-conscious perspective.
“What We Call Fine” speaks to the ignorance that we have to endure that leads to our polluted air, whether its toxic dryer fragrance or wildfire smoke “there are lethal pollutants in the air / and we make indexes to categorize it/ instead of laws to halt it / the world still fossil fuel addicted / my cough worsening.” However, she notes, we can thank sea air to rescue us from our perilous course and “breathe us back to the wisdom of simplicity”.
“Unveiling Light” calls out our species’ recklessness regarding the crises we face “whose species stupidity / now surpasses what nature can heal / what it should have to heal / playing ego with nuclear war and planetary fire.” However, we redeem ourselves with the realization “that we too find our resistance to oppression / through humble acts of everyday courage”.
In the “Alchemy of a Heartbeat”, Sharp compares the climate crisis and resulting pollution with the impact of Mount Vesuvius on Pompeii in 79 AD: “like the noble Pilny / who rescued as many citizens / as he could from ancient Pompeii / then died on the beach of respiratory problems / I wonder how long our bodies have / to struggle against particle inhalation.” However, she adds, “in the morning / we give thanks / for all that still is.”
In the magnificent epic eight-page poem “Burning Times”—inspired by John Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale,”—she uses an encounter with a hummingbird as a jumping off point to explore the contrast of the peacefulness of the hummingbird’s existence with the author’s experience of disruption and concern over the climate crisis and all its consequences. Sharp concludes the poem:
and I am left to ask
why are we selling our demise
if our chance for peaceful survival is an option
if meaning can be found
sated in sustainability.
In “Tiers,” she examines the consequences of extreme weather events, and how they may affect more profoundly the lives of those who are struggling financially, then shifts very movingly to imagining a life without any of these concerns, “if only I could get back in / to not having to know”.
My favourite aspect of this collection is that, despite Sharp’s serious concerns about the state of the world, particularly regarding climate, she often leaves us with a nugget of hope that we can alter the direction in which we are heading. This book is so well written, and the words and ideas just flow so smoothly. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves great poetry, and particularly for those who share the author’s concern for our plight and the need for a livable planet.
Cynthia Sharp thrives on interdisciplinary collaboration and peace education. She has an MFA in creative writing and an Honours BA in literature and has been published and broadcast internationally. Her work has appeared in many anthologies and literary journals including CV2, untethered, Toasted Cheese, Quills, Prism, Haiku Journal & Lantern Magazine, among others, and been nominated for the Pushcart Prize & Best of the Net Anthology. She was the City of Richmond’s 2019 Writer in Residence and loves taking part in diverse literary events through the world. Cynthia trained as a high school language arts and ESL teacher and is available to facilitate poetry and prose writing workshops on Zoom as well as in classrooms at all levels, from elementary school to college to community centres. She lives on the beautiful west coast where she is on the editorial team of The Pitkin Review.