In the poem “Provisions,” for example, Bloch writes of asking an “aging poet” when she was thirty, “What’s left for me to write?” Rather than mocking, the poet responds, “Life will provide,” and Bloch notes the answer was “Delphic, though her tone / was maternal.” Writing many years later “Life” provides “the endless thread, / the poem.” I imagine her delight in crafting her experiences in the last months and days of her life into these well-wrought poems. Now you may kiss the bride. The poems' simplicity can be deceptive: they contain depths of emotion, often contradictory, that gather in power as the book proceeds. Each page verifies the beauty and scope and surge of a life both extraordinary and daily, embraced not in spite of our mortality, but because of it. Enszer edits and publishes Sinister Wisdom, a multicultural lesbian literary and art journal, and a regular book reviewer for the The Rumpus and Calyx. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2017. Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2017. Learn more about the program. Bloch’s particular gift is the distillation of the human condition using the objects and experiences of everyday life. The Full Moon is visible in the sky approximately from sunset to sunrise. Here, Bloch mingles joy and pain in a single body—and in a single life event. For more information on the movie visit the Ashby Village website. Bloch doesn’t shy away from the dark places, but she was a trustworthy guide. It is electrifying in its precision and concision, in its careful balance of plenitude and spareness. The Moon Is Almost Full is a fine, spare, smart, and moving collection. / Unto every death a morning after.” The sensual contrasts in the phrase and those explicated through the four couplets capture the dualities of life, its invariable ups and downs. Chana Bloch’s newest poetry collection, The Moon is Almost Full, focuses frankly and tenderly on the themes of aging and death. Bloch was professor emerita of English literature and creative writing at Mills College, where she taught for many years and directed the creative writing program. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. —ROBERT ALTER, “Under siege, I am still a kingdom,” writes Chana Bloch in this signal, singing, singeing collection of poems. Welcome to The Rumpus! She writes: You must listen closely to hear Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. At The Rumpus, we know how easy it is to find pop culture on the Internet, so we’re here to give you something more challenging, to show you how beautiful things are when you step off the beaten path. The Rumpus is a place where people come to be themselves through their writing, to tell their stories or speak their minds in the most artful and authentic way they know how. During her lifetime she authored six books of poems and six books of translations of Hebrew poetry both ancient and contemporary. And you—if you can use it, Rather than mocking, the poet responds, "Life will provide," and Bloch notes the answer was "Delphic, though her tone / was maternal." We work hard to protect your security and privacy. One of the unsettling realities of these poems is that they are the last we have from Bloch. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. In “Case Closed,” Bloch links listening with writing on the occasion of hearing a Beethoven symphony. These remarkable poems remind the reader to take joy where we can find it and relish the everyday. As a Bookshop affiliate and an Amazon Associate, The Rumpus earns a percentage from qualifying purchases. First quarter. Autumn House Press; 1st Edition (September 5, 2017). The Moon is Almost Full is the crowning achievement of Chana Bloch’s distinguished career as a poet. It is also a powerful capstone to Bloch’s extraordinary body of work, which consists of six collections of poetry, including the award-winning Mrs. Dumpty and Bloch’s selected poems, Swimming in the Rain; translations of the work of Yehuda Amichai and Dahlia Ravikovitch; and, with her former husband Ariel Bloch, a gorgeous rendition of “The Song of Songs.” Bloch also published many essays and a critical volume on George Herbert. 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