Repulsion Thrust

Repulsion Thrust by Magdalena Ball

December 5, 2009 — Pat Bertram

Repulsion Thrust by Magdalena Ball
ISBN: 978-1-904492-96-2
Bewrite Books
Publication Date: 2 December, 2009
Paperback, also available in digital e-book version, 110 pp
Price: UK £8.99, USA $17.99, Ca $20.50. Eu €13.50

Available through Ingram, Bertram Books, Gardners, Baker & Taylor, Ingrams, Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and good bookstores everywhere (ask for it).Award-winning poet Magdalena Ball has released a new book of poetry that moves across a terrain not often the fodder of poetry. Following up on her award winning chapbook Quark Soup, Ball combines her pursuit for scientific meaning with the steely-eyed observations of a poet, seeking answers to the human condition through Quantum Physics, and measuring human aging against technological singularity, or the loss of love against ecological destruction. It’s an extraordinary and original collection that author, inventor and futurist visionary Ray Kurzweil calls “wonderful … singularity-aware art with a poetic sensibility”.

Title poem:

take any web
worldwide or otherwise
poke holes
break boundaries
make it new
that kind of thing

no silk is strong enough
for your anger
it isn’t yours really
its mine
my mother’s, your father’s
you get the idea
genetic instructions
writ in your
knit brows

use it
thrust through the repulsion
turn it to love

what else is there?

REVIEWS:

“In poetry the thin line that divides the hermetic from the obvious is dangerous ground and not all poets can tread there without destruction. Magdalena is comfortable here and not only treads but dances.” Bob Williams

“Precise and exciting. Words sizzle on the page. Images steeped in the physical world work beautifully to illuminate complex emotions and states of mind. Magdalena Ball is an important poet.” Joan Schweighardt, author of Gudrun’s Tapestry, Virtual Silence and other novels.

“This is a book of poetry for anyone who has been in love and knows what it is to live in the twenty-first century, but who is more than a little scared of what might happen if all the lights went out. Take these poems seriously. They may just have some of the answers you require.” Catherine Edmunds, author wormwood, earth and honey

“Magdalena Ball creates a stunning impression with her first full-length collection, Repulsion Thrust. Her poems speak of experience, wisdom, and curiosity and welcome the reader to embrace a voyeuristic ride. Beautiful, haunting, and honest, Repulsion Thrust is a powerful collection with a refreshing voice and an open heart.” Lori A. May, author of Stains

“Poems of clarity, epiphany and stark existential awareness. A bracing, imaginative collection of poetry that rewards repeated reading.” Sue Bond, The Wordy Gecko

Magdalena Ball was born in New York City and holds a BA from City College, an MA from Charles Sturt University, and has written a Masters thesis on James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. She now lives in Australia where she works in research and development for Orica, a large multinational corporation, a job that often provides inspiration for her work. She also runs the highly respected compulsivereader.com review site. Her novel Sleep Before Evening, published in 2007, was a Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist.