Questions About the Stars

Melanie Marttila is a Sudbury-based freelance writer and writing
consultant.

Robyn Sarah is an accomplished writer of both poetry and prose. In
Questions About the Stars, she deftly paces her poems. Prose poems
follow short, almost imagistic pieces. Haiku and villanelles peek out
from behind free verse. Even the few weaker poems in the collection are
couched among strong graceful works that speak clearly of Sarah’s
artistry. Her skilled placement of her works complements the
collection’s overall theme.

The collection itself works like a gallery of still-life paintings and
impressionist moments. Sarah is curator of the whole, displaying her
intimate knowledge of the works in question and of how they best flow
together. Some poems, such as “Astronomy,” from which the title of
this collection is derived, observe how people come to live in their
lives like museums, and how they are jolted into action only when the
pieces of their lives are rearranged by outside forces. In “A
Watcher,” Sarah comments on a life focused on the observation of
others, which is driven by a desire “to be known, and know.”

The book is divided into three sections: “We’re Here” explores
the present in poetic still life; “Rumours of Light” is
impressionist in nature, exploring how light leads the eye to discovery
and insight; and “The World Is Its Own Museum” delves into how we
all are observers, how we all collect, and how this tendency reveals
human nature. The collection is framed by two lovely poems, “Grace”
and “The World Is Its Own Museum.” The former speaks specifically to
the poet’s life and the art of observation; unable to enter the museum
proper, the poet, O, opts to observe the museum of life instead by
“strolling in the sunshine.” In the latter poem, Sarah reflects on
how “We are collectors all, and our / collections are collectors too,
/ collecting dust.” Questions About the Stars is a pleasure to read
and to consider on a quiet, lazy afternoon.