Open Shutters
Open Shutters by Mary Jo Salter is a reprint collection published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group on January 25, 2005. This 96-page book presents a series of poems that explore the complexities of perception and reality, inviting readers into a world where appearances can be deceiving. The collection begins with the poem “Trompe l’Oeil,” which sets the tone for the themes of illusion and truth that resonate throughout the work.
Readers will find a diverse array of poems that engage with significant topics, including reflections on September 11, familial connections, and the interplay of light and darkness. Salter’s work captures moments of both humor and poignancy, as seen in the light verse that complements her more serious themes. The collection culminates in the poem “An Open Book,” which poignantly ties together the various threads of the narrative, emphasizing the emotional depth and stylistic range that characterize Salter’s poetry.
Official synopsis Publisher
Mary Jo Salter’s sparkling new collection, Open Shutters, leads us into a world where things are often not what they seem. In the first poem, “Trompe l’Oeil,” the shadow-casting shutters on Genoese houses are made of paint only, an “open lie.” And yet “Who needs to be correct / more often than once a day? / Who needs real shadow more than play?”
Open Shutters also calls to mind the lens of a camera—in the villanelle “School Pictures” or in the stirring sequence “In the Guesthouse,” which, inspired by photographs of a family across three generations, offers at once a social history of America and a love story.
Darkness and light interact throughout the book—in poems about September 11; about a dog named Shadow; about a blind centenarian who still pretends to read the paper; about a woman shaken by the death of her therapist. A section of light verse highlights the wit and grace that have long distinguished Salter’s most serious work.
Fittingly, the volume fools the eye once more by closing with “An Open Book,” in which a Muslim family praying at a funeral seek consolation in the pages formed by their upturned palms.
Open Shutters is the achievement of a remarkable poet, whose concerns and stylistic range continue to grow, encompassing ever larger themes, becoming ever more open.
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