Remains to Be Seen

In David Rushmer''s stunning book, Remains to Be Seen, we find a carefully crafted rendering of a voice in the world, each syllable of this drama earned. There is a microtonal attention to reality and a gorgeous music throughout. This is a truly remarkable first book. -Peter Gizzi David Rushmer''s poetry can come as a shock. The power of the writing comes from a compelling manipulation of rhythmic devices combined with an insistence on a pared-down word-hoard constantly revisited. It is intense. It has great scope. It has a primitive, elemental feel, with an attention to rhythmic and sonic detail. Rushmer has acknowledged his debts to French writers such as Maurice Blanchot and Bernard Noel, and it is the case that his own work doesn''t seem to fit comfortably into any particular tradition of British writing. This, of course, is one of its great strengths, Rushmer is a European writer. The title of the book is as deft as any of its contents in managing to hint at a devastated landscape consisting of nothing but remains, as well as a glimmer of hope in the other sense of the phrase `it remains to be seen.'' I have a high regard for this work. It is subtly crafted, deeply serious and disturbingly memorable. -Peter Hughes See more