Gnawed Bones: Poetry by Peggy Schumaker

Gnawed Bones
poetry

By: Peggy Schumaker

Reviewed by: E. Hanson

Peggy Schumaker in Gnawed Bones, writes from an interior landscape as well as one based on nature. Her approach is observational.
Her usage seems to me to be perfect. Her constructs building upon the general, leads us to personal truths with a teaming desert of the universal and is a pleasure to read.
I have many favorites in this admirable chapbook. However, if I had to pick just one poem out of the collection it would be “Mother Tongue”. It has an elemental feel with intuitive knowledge. Her credentials are impeccable. (The only thing missing is a translation.)
I love that she likes to use visual art as a springboard. (i.e. “Deliverance”, “That Painting I Didn’t Buy”, “Upset Woman”, etc.) My other favorite is “Sea Change”. I feel that this writer understands the richness of language but also understands that less is more.
There are wonderful poems in this collection that deal with loss. I especially like “Chickens”, “Ha Ha Ha”, and “Albondigas” which stands out for its sheer pathos.
In Gnawed Bones, the reader will come away with a very personal sense of who this author is and the basic nature in all of us, which makes us what we are.
Thank you for a good read!