Unmarked Doors

Anne Burke is the editor of the Prairie Journal Press.

In her fifth book of poetry, Israel draws on her experiences in France
and Dublin, as well as her fluency in four languages and ethnic
heritage.

The “Prologue” is a simple, imagist poem, “Cape Spear,” which
links Europe and Newfoundland. “Clean Breast” is a confessional
poem, a dramatic monologue told by Nora Barnacle Joyce about her famous
husband. This long poem resembles Israel’s “The Unwritten Letters of
Mileva and Albert Einstein.” Israel fictionalizes from the point of
view of Nora and Mileva with humor about the vagaries of living with
these men. Nora sympathizes with Mrs. Freud and desires “to make my
own book.” She is fond of gossiping and name-dropping (Hemingway,
Ibsen, and others). The poem is both a radio drama and a stage play.

The section “Russian Diary” contains travel poems, while “Whirl
is King” draws on scientific imagery. Israel has no illusions when she
quotes from G.K. Chesterton, “The cosmos is about the smallest hole a
man can hide his head in.” She reveals the layers of reality at the
San—its history as a sanatorium for tuberculosis, then as a school for
writing—and finally the rebirth of nature outside the author’s
window. “Album” contains poems addressed to individuals. Among these
are “Kaddish: for my mother,” “The Branding,” and “To a German
Friend.” Like the title poem, these serve to evoke her parentage and
the horror of Auschwitz in an effective manner, through allusion and
obliqueness, until the reader is struck by “did his mother shade the
light / on some official’s desk?” The section “Northern Journey”
brings us to West Coast topography and thus full circle through time and
space. I look forward to further explorations with this author.