A Review of: Blossom and Bone

by Nicole Lyons

For my money, Nicole Lyons is hands down the best poet writing today. By far. She simply excels at her craft, and she does so with the apparent ease of one who effortlessly speaks her soul without need of any edit or further rewrite. Which, of course, is impossible. One would think. And I have never encountered another poet who writes as seamlessly as she. But that is only to address the skill of writing. First must come the transformation and translation of feeling and transcendent being into words, and that requires pinpoint accuracy and impeccable handling in order not to damage the efficacy of those original goods. That is the agony of the poet, and the impossible challenge of her art. Nicole acts like it is simply second nature. Whatever effort is required comes from living the experience, not from putting it into words. At least, that is the impression left to the reader.

As if that were not enough, Nicole Lyons imbues her poetry with an impeccable grace of rhythm. One never stumbles in the reading, for one is simply watching and listening to a river run. How then to explain the savagery and rawness one confronts head on in her poems? How to account for the anatomical splaying of her soul? I’m telling you: it is impossible to do what she does.