Elsewhere, That Small

📘 About This Book

“Sit and stay a while in the strangely familiar rooms and landscapes that Monica Berlin’s Elsewhere, That Small constructs for us. Let Berlin stop the clock, just for a few seconds, so we can take stock of “the ordinary seen & seen / -through” of our day: a doorframe warped by humidity or an over-pruned tree. Here, we weather cycles of loss and recovery; here, we dwell in the contrary senses of belonging and longing to be elsewhere. Berlin’s beautifully structured and incisive poems ask us to face—and to marvel at—the brute force of the world’s ongoingness. More so, Elsewhere, That Small offers a lesson on how to region here—that is, how to accept, how to endure.” —EMILY ROSKO | “The contingency in Elsewhere, That Small is embodied by the sonnet form, its propensity to turn from abstract to concrete, map to memory “heavy-shaded by green.” It’s in the rhythm of Monica Berlin’s language, in iambs that sometimes strike in a clear pattern sturdy as a chair back before shifting “like some trick of maybe.” And yet: what is contingent in the form is inescapable in the fact of our being human. In these poems, we occupy spaces, patches of ground and perspectives that we may be so bold as to call our own. What a gift to be reminded of the view from where we’re standing, and how fleeting it is when the time comes to turn.” —BETH MCDERMOTT | “This sequence of poems makes me consider the solitary expanse of the sonnet, how the span of fourteen lines opens up a zone through which a thought can travel nimbly its avenues. Intimate, contemplative, seeking out the smallest folds of language, Berlin’s verse leads us through estrangements and dismantlings, whose phrases disclose their “beautiful, hardness, their sharp edges & / sharper heave of near-careless care.” This book makes palpable a certain kind of nearness, an almost, an about-to-rise, like orchestral instruments tuning up. Reader, bring your listening.” CAROLINA EBEID

📖 Summary

Elsewhere, That Small is a striking collection of poetry by Monica Berlin, published in 2020 across 112 pages. The book invites readers to sit and stay a while in strangely familiar rooms and landscapes, stopping the clock just for a few seconds to take stock of the ordinary seen and seen-through aspects of everyday life. Whether observing a doorframe warped by humidity or an over-pruned tree, Berlin's poems capture the quiet textures of the mundane and elevate them into objects of profound contemplation. Throughout the collection, readers weather cycles of loss and recovery, dwelling in the contrary senses of belonging and the constant longing to be elsewhere. Berlin employs the sonnet form brilliantly, utilizing its inherent contingency and propensity to turn from the abstract to anchor her reflections. Her beautifully structured and incisive verses ask us to face, and ultimately marvel at, the brute force of the world's ongoingness. More than just a poetic exercise, Elsewhere, That Small offers a valuable lesson on how to region here, teaching readers how to accept and how to endure the quiet realities of existence. The landscapes and rooms constructed within these pages feel simultaneously intimate and vast, acting as mirrors for our own internal states of flux. Berlin's keen observations remind us of the weight held in small, overlooked moments and physical spaces. By slowing down time, the poems allow us to examine how we inhabit our environments and process the steady march of time. The interplay between longing for somewhere else and coming to terms with the present moment forms the emotional core of the book. As readers move through the 112 pages, they are guided through the delicate architecture of human endurance. The collection is a masterclass in modern poetic form, utilizing traditional structures to explore contemporary landscapes of grief, memory, and spatial awareness. Ultimately, Monica Berlin has crafted a deeply resonant work that rewards careful, unhurried reading, urging us to find grace in the ordinary and resilience in the face of the world's unrelenting momentum.

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