Trillion Year Mission
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davidkmDietrich, Bryan D., 2011, The Assumption, WordFarm, Seattle, Washington (www.wordfarm.net), perfect bound, 84 pages. ISBN-10: 1-60226-008-7; ISBN-13: 978-1-60226-008-5. $15.
When I started reading this book my first reaction was “I can't review this!” I don't have much experience reviewing poetry that, though overtly SF in content, is just as overtly literary in the ways those concepts are examined. The thing is, in The Assumption, each word seems to be exactly right, its multiple meanings linked like neurons to the words and phrases around it. Since then, I have met the author and heard him read poems from another book. I had not heard of Dietrich before picking up this book, but I probably should have. He's apparently been a fan his whole life, has written SF poetry for much of it, and has published in Asimov's and Weird Tales, as well as mainstream venues like Poetry. Maybe I can do this.
The Assumption, like many of Dietrich's poetry books, is not a collection of loosely connected or unconnected poems. It contains essentially three works. A poem dedicated to James Doohan; the title work (a long poem in seven parts); and a concluding poem about the end of time. Even these three poems are closely related conceptually, and one could think of them as prologue, body, and epilogue. The first part concerns physical exploration of the universe, but not for the sake of mundane knowledge. Humans travel space in search of Cause. In the second, space ships are cast aside in favor of more philosophical, spiritual exploration. And in the end, well, the end.
“The Engineer” is a series of seven sonnets that describe scientific exploration of the universe as a part of humanity's search for its Maker. One could argue this point, but Dietrich makes an eloquent case. The vast universe of stars, nebulae, etc, we explore remotely (now) and directly (in the futuristic context of the poem). But we aren't just seeking facts and theories to present at scientific meetings in fancy hotels in grand old cities. We want more.
Between the dust clouds calving sun to night,
behind the blazing battlements of old
auroral habiliments, dead supernova's light
we wander. We find that
The dark is more than only, lonely, full of fear.
It's made us seek, as Stevens said, an Engineer.
Well, I remain skeptical. I think our motives involve the search for grants, prestige, and the satisfaction of a job well done, not to mention solving the what and how questions we pose and answer in our papers. But I'll give the search for why it's due. That's in there too.
Assumption usually refers to the crowning of a king, and may also relate to the enthroning of supernatural beings, such as gods. And that's part of what the poem “The Assumption” is about. However, it's mostly about our place in the universe and our struggle to determine what that is. Is there a higher power, and if so, what is it?
From part one of “The Assumption,” entitled “The Skeptic”:
they've seen the hindquarters of the holy
of holies, many claim messengers
came, collected their ovaries, prodded
their posteriors with pipe. Others were coddled,
And of course part two is entitled “The Crackpot”:
Indeed, about celestial visitation
they were never wrong, the old Masters. It's just
they couldn't tell prophecy from planet palpitation,
Yahweh from the yaw of interstellar wanderlust.
The comet that bought the Hebrews free from scarab
toasted, too, the armies of Sennacherib.
I don't want to give anything away, and I'm sure any further analysis I could offer would be laughable in its superficiality. But The Assumption is not a long book. I recommend it. And one more thing. Look for a new book in 2012, one which turns Frankenstein back on itself, in verse.
When I started reading this book my first reaction was “I can't review this!” I don't have much experience reviewing poetry that, though overtly SF in content, is just as overtly literary in the ways those concepts are examined. The thing is, in The Assumption, each word seems to be exactly right, its multiple meanings linked like neurons to the words and phrases around it. Since then, I have met the author and heard him read poems from another book. I had not heard of Dietrich before picking up this book, but I probably should have. He's apparently been a fan his whole life, has written SF poetry for much of it, and has published in Asimov's and Weird Tales, as well as mainstream venues like Poetry. Maybe I can do this.
The Assumption, like many of Dietrich's poetry books, is not a collection of loosely connected or unconnected poems. It contains essentially three works. A poem dedicated to James Doohan; the title work (a long poem in seven parts); and a concluding poem about the end of time. Even these three poems are closely related conceptually, and one could think of them as prologue, body, and epilogue. The first part concerns physical exploration of the universe, but not for the sake of mundane knowledge. Humans travel space in search of Cause. In the second, space ships are cast aside in favor of more philosophical, spiritual exploration. And in the end, well, the end.
“The Engineer” is a series of seven sonnets that describe scientific exploration of the universe as a part of humanity's search for its Maker. One could argue this point, but Dietrich makes an eloquent case. The vast universe of stars, nebulae, etc, we explore remotely (now) and directly (in the futuristic context of the poem). But we aren't just seeking facts and theories to present at scientific meetings in fancy hotels in grand old cities. We want more.
Between the dust clouds calving sun to night,
behind the blazing battlements of old
auroral habiliments, dead supernova's light
we wander. We find that
The dark is more than only, lonely, full of fear.
It's made us seek, as Stevens said, an Engineer.
Well, I remain skeptical. I think our motives involve the search for grants, prestige, and the satisfaction of a job well done, not to mention solving the what and how questions we pose and answer in our papers. But I'll give the search for why it's due. That's in there too.
Assumption usually refers to the crowning of a king, and may also relate to the enthroning of supernatural beings, such as gods. And that's part of what the poem “The Assumption” is about. However, it's mostly about our place in the universe and our struggle to determine what that is. Is there a higher power, and if so, what is it?
From part one of “The Assumption,” entitled “The Skeptic”:
they've seen the hindquarters of the holy
of holies, many claim messengers
came, collected their ovaries, prodded
their posteriors with pipe. Others were coddled,
And of course part two is entitled “The Crackpot”:
Indeed, about celestial visitation
they were never wrong, the old Masters. It's just
they couldn't tell prophecy from planet palpitation,
Yahweh from the yaw of interstellar wanderlust.
The comet that bought the Hebrews free from scarab
toasted, too, the armies of Sennacherib.
I don't want to give anything away, and I'm sure any further analysis I could offer would be laughable in its superficiality. But The Assumption is not a long book. I recommend it. And one more thing. Look for a new book in 2012, one which turns Frankenstein back on itself, in verse.
