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Confession

Confession, the companion to Incontinence, Susan Hahn’s previous prize-winning book of poetry, continues the probing, visceral account of the relationship of a woman with her estranged husband and her inconstant lovers. Ingenious, disturbing, Confession will enhance an already substantial following for this exceptional poet.

"Phoenix Poets is the most distinguished university press series going."—Alfred Corn

"Compressed, controlled, circumscribed by the artist’s discipline, the poems in Susan Hahn’s Confession do not spill over; each is like a steadily held cup containing its pain."—Alicia Ostriker

"Hahn’s voice is unique and unforgettable . . . . Hahn’s self-revelation is so startling, and her details so extraordinary, that she virtually detonates her poems with energy. . . . Plath, Ai, Sexton—Hahn brings to mind those vivid, violent poets, but her voice is clearly her own, strong and without either shrillness or shame."—Patricia Monaghan, Booklist

"In her third book of poems, Confession, Susan Hahn continues to refine her amazing capacity to disquiet, disgust and fascinate. This may not sound like a recommendation, but it is. . . . The precision of Hahn’s language stands out even more clearly when compared to the looser, baggier free verse that dominates so much contemporary poetry."—Maureen McLane, Chicago Tribune

Read an excerpt.


96 pages | xii., 82 p. | 6-1/4 x 8-1/2 | © 1996

Phoenix Poets

Poetry

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Poison
The New Age
The Fifth Amendment
February Day
Passover, Easter, Hitler’s Birthday
Disorderly Conduct
The Dream of Late Spring
Insomnia
The Center of Gravity
Swastika
Time Change
Lost Autumn
January Ovaries
Poem in Late May
Song of Estrogen
Pinched Nerve
Earthquake
A Cappella
Pneumonia
Inspiration
Blue Baby
First Blooms
False Spring
Commandment
The Law Dictionary
Yeast
Henna
Young Woman with Blood
Summer Cold
Felony
Depression
Nijinsky’s Dog
Fraud
The Devil’s Legs
The Animals
He Who Whittled My Soul
Mens Rea
Liposuction for the Soul
For Beauty
Nature’s Bouquet
In Kansas, at the Menninger Clinic
Music from a High-Strung Instrument
The Lovers
Confession
The Laws of the Soft Ground

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