Chrysopylae

Poetry book

Chrysopylae

Israeli-born poet Omer Zamir’s latest volume of is filled with passion, bold experimentation, and a skill at word smithing and image-making that is nothing short of brilliant! The range of subjects has breadth and maturity and contrast; the lyrics soar from youthful exuberance to edgy, embittered, even nightmarish darkness. Always, they are crafted with both precision and provocative spontaneity that continually surprises with its juxtapositions, original images, and free but sculpted meter. Many seem to be experimentations in voice and form: some taut and terse, others densely longer and laden with complex syntax and imagery, intricate yet varied use of devices such as internal rhyme or alliteration or assonance, but all with a mastery of the English language that is astounding and with an innate musicality that underscores the verse with its emotion. But perhaps what is most striking about them is their unsparing honesty from the open declaration of love and sensuality in “Yeah,” to the haunting mournfulness of “Matthew,” to the anguished memories of “She and He,” or the disturbingly powerful “The Passion.” Self-taught as a writer, Zamir has clearly been reading a wide range of great literature, and one hears echoes of writers like James Joyce, Gerard Manley-Hopkins, even of visionaries like William Blake. But his verse is far too spontaneous and authentic to be anything but singular.

�"Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold

Author's Note

http://www.deerbrookeditions.com/chrysopylae/