rife : Poems

"Marlis . . . is a good-natured and empathetic poet whose light philosophizing begins in simple things: buttons, sand, stars, flowers. . . . In her tranquil verse, Marlis prefers a world ''where kindness is possible,'' where we must soften ourselves for love. The abundance suggested by the title (''there''s so much of so much") is spoken to by a lexicon of 15 impressionistic ''definitions,'' each of them an association of images built up from a word."-Kirkus Reviews

"rife is Stefanie Marlis''s most complex book, her most experimental. It spins faster on postmodern prayerwheels. The title poem is one of a series of ''definition'' poems, poems that seem to spark off the dictionary and its ''free play of signifiers.'' And these poems have an open-ended, indeterminate quality that feels new in her work. The poem oscillates between ''abundance,'' with its connotations of richness, and ''rife,'' with its more weedy, out of control association."-Poetry Flash

"rife beautifully indulges the joy in wordplay all language lovers have. In each poem is a delightful discovery, a surprise in recognizing the event and the exactness of the poem''s meaning and imagery. Stefanie Marlis has exceptional talent in both metaphor and revelation; her images subtly build into fresh vision. The poem ''The World'' describes bravery in the attempt to rewrite a friend''s life, like ''a threaded needle pu