Mass for Shut-ins
Mass for Shut-ins by Mary-Alice Daniel is the 117th volume of the Yale Series of Younger Poets, published by Yale University Press in 2023. This 104-page collection presents a unique exploration of tricontinental culture shock and the author’s complex positioning within various worlds. Through her poetry, Daniel engages with themes of myth and ritual, drawing on influences from her native Nigeria and other traditions.
Readers will find that Mass for Shut-ins delves into a universe marked by darkness and chaos, where African and Western mythic systems intertwine. The poems navigate dreamscapes and hellscapes, mapping out fields of spiritual warfare infused with elements of scripture, superstition, and modern media. This edition invites reflection on the intrusive thoughts that haunt us, creating a vivid tapestry of experiences that resonate with the complexities of contemporary existence.
Official synopsis Publisher
The 117th volume of the Yale Series of Younger Poets, in which Mary-Alice Daniel confronts tricontinental culture shock and her curious placement within many worlds
“Against humans creating hell on earth, Daniel draws on animistic, Islamic, and syncretic Christian traditions from her native Nigeria to unleash potent incantations, rituals and spells, electric as St. Elmo’s fire. Buckle up.”–Rae Armantrout, judge
In Mass for Shut-Ins, African and Western mythic systems and modern rituals originate an ill-omened universe. Here, it is always night, grim night, under absurd moons. Venturing through dreamscapes, hellscapes, and lurid landscapes, poems map speculative fields of spiritual warfare. This collection is controlled chaos powered by nightmare fuel. It animates an utterly odd organism: a cosmology cobbled with scripture, superstition, mass media, mad science. Horrid, holy, unholy–these pages overrun with the unhinged, intrusive thoughts that obsess us all late into nighttime.
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