Heather McHugh

me begin with this disclosure: I've been a fan of Ms. McHugh's poetry since we went to high school together. In fact, we were both in the same 12th grade AP English class. From the beginning, Heather stuck me as fascinated with all aspects of words - their sounds and meanings but also how they shape our thoughts and perceptions as well as signify them.

In Hinge & Sign, I see that she's still fascinated with words but over the years she's learned to use them not just to dazzle us with her show more command of them but also to gently and sometimes wittily explore the same issues that have preoccupied so many great poets before her - the meaning of human life and its place in Creation. But Heather never pontificates. Instead, she gently probes among everyday thoughts and situations to find at least fragments of answers to some of our biggest questions. Indeed, her probing can be so gentle that it comes close to being over-powered by the magic tricks that she performs with language. But even when that occurs, the magic alone is worth the show. show less

Except for, perhaps, a little reservation about subject matter (for example, a poem about a hanged man with a death erection), this would be a good recommendation for a young person who needs to know that poetry can be fundamentally fun. McHugh’s poems often seem to be constructed in the same spirit that prevails when creating the crossword puzzle for the London Times. E.g. “My one/ and only: money/ minus one…” Words tremulously cling to their meanings, despite being deconstructed show more into some pretty curious contortions – “all history was fast repast, rewined, redowned!” There’s a bunch of sonic smackdowns, internal rhyme reminders, and consequential consonances – a thorough dismantling of staple words just off the shelf. Plus some formidable metaphors – as when a Fourth of July display is described as “practice / for an aneurysm.” My favorites include two poems called “songs for scientists”: one a meditation on the brain collection at Cornell University, the other an attempt to translate birdcalls into demotic English. show less

Poetry this clever can be a pain. But then McHugh has a heart too. The poems questioning God are my favorites. They remind me of a modern version of Cowper or is it Herbert? I would say if McHugh wanted to she could start a neo-metaphysical school of writing.

Heather McHugh 'Upgraded to Serious'

Poet Heather McHugh is the recipient of many honors, including a MacArthur grant. The book jacket of her 'Upgraded to Serious' shows her lounging against a barn door (she faces away from the skeleton staring at us).

On You Tube a splendid, more than 30 minutes' reading includes
'Not to be dwelled on' and several others from this collection. The sound of her voice and her wry comments enhanced appreciation of the poems in this volume for me. I'd already show more read some aloud for myself, notably 'Hackers can sidejack cookies,' with its wonderful, quotable
'I know how to spell banana, but I don't know when to stop.'

In this book McHugh gives us 'Good old God,' in contrast to 'Mourner's Kaddish.' She brings us up to date with 'Mary's Reminder.' A statement in her acknowledgments tells us many of the poems were written 'in honor of friends I loved who died during these past few years, leaving rips in the fabric of the world.' We are privileged to read them. show less