Vellum

By Matt Donovan

Book Overview

Vellum, the exquisite debut collection from Matt Donovan, meditates on beauty, art, and the violence that is sometimes inherent in both.
Here, he juxtaposes religious iconography with stories from history, biography, and personal narrative. In the poignant "Saint Catherine in an O," a knife bears unlikely duality--an object stirring with danger and grace.
"A man plays slide guitar / with his pocketknife, accompanying the words of his songs--/ one about light, the Lord moving on water . . . / how blood, he knows, will make him whole." In other poems, he reflects upon master artists, who captured similar themes in their art though in different mediums. Brimming with poems that are quietly powerful, Vellum marks the arrival of a commanding new voice.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618822127
• ISBN13: 9780618822126
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Ecco Press
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Matt Donovan's VELLUM Deserves All Its Praise

VELLUM by Matt Donovan. A Mariner Original/Houghton Mifflin. 2007 67 Pages. These are exquisite poems. Donovan's is a relatively new voice to be reckoned with and followed for all the pleasure his words will deliver. I consider "Towards the Sound of a Heron Stepping on Ice" [the last poem in the collection] to be an extraordinary creation; as far as I'm concerned, it is among the very best in contemporary poetry written in English. Rather than sprinkle this review with extraordinary lines, I'll simply urge those readers who enjoy falling into the metaphorical, sudden flash of brilliant poetry to buy this book and keep it close. Burgess Needle