Coupling

Book excerpt: Carolynn Kingyens dazzles once again in a second collection defined by her distinctive insights and gift for revealing detail. In Coupling, she examines the tapestry of human pairings in all of their fragility, resilience and mystery, taking readers on a staff ride through hills and dales of romance and surprise, mountains of hope and valleys of regret. As original as Neruda and as wise as Mary Oliver, Kingyens understands how to capture the moment like no other contemporary poet. These are gentle narrative poems as honest as they are true. -Jacob M. Appel, author of The Cynic in Extremis Coupling is a masterful book of poems dealing with modern life and its complexities. From the pandemic to relationships, the poet presents a powerful landscape of the day to day. I thought of you somewhere being wind..., and only white, refrigerated / trucks and the vultures / circling above- / this time, it's no mirage. Kingyens holds up the hard truths reminding us it's no mirage. Coupling is a harvest for the taking. -Gloria Mindock, author of Ash, editor of Červená Barva Press Carolynn Kingyens is a master of communicating how it feels to move through our society in a woman's body. Things happen to you, and around you, and you are made complicit-forced to show empathy, forced to take on the burdens of others. In writing about life during pandemic times, the poet says, People are dying alone. This attention to public grief speaks volumes about the poet's compassion despite battles with her own personal demons. There is a loneliness in many of Kingyens' poems. The poet reveals to the reader how internal battles are fought and overcome, but not necessarily won. In Coupling, Kingyens offers cautionary tales about sex, mental health, death, and the complex role of religion for both self and society. -Mark Danowsky, Editor-in-Chief, ONE ART: a journal of poetry