Her absence, this wanderer by Syd Zolf

Syd (formerly Rachel) Zolf’s first book of poetry explores post-Holocaust Jewish identity and queer desire through a complex, multilayered textuality, seamlessly blending the erotic with the linguistic. As R.M. Vaughan noted in a 2000 review, “Zolf writes about the impossible, about events that defy poetry, in the only way possible–by making the unspeakable the silent, omitted undergrammar of her poems. Understated and sharp, Her absence, this wanderer shows how sometimes less is more than we can bear.”

Praise for Her absence, this wanderer:

“My favourite debut poetry book of the season…Brightly written in a pointillist style, it sings where you’d expect it to wail, and turns playful just when you anticipate pathos. The stunning centrepiece of the book…is a blunt, direct elegy as fine as hand-stitched lace. Zolf writes about the impossible, about events that defy poetry, in the only way possible—by making the unspeakable the silent, omitted undergrammar of her poems.” —R.M. Vaughan, This Magazine

“As an archivist, she faithfully records and restores fragments of historical reality; as a poet, she transmutes this historical material into a postmodernist collage…[Her] eroticization of language through lesbian desire…[is an] outstanding example of a new lesbian writing that is changing the contemporary literary scene.” —John C. Stout, torquere

“Fierce, careful and incisive…these deep, finely crafted poems offer a satisfying narrative journey through a well-engaged struggle with life…knowing and being known, seeing and insisting on visibility.” —Ann Decter, Prairie Fire Review of Books

“Tell[ing] a story in a beautifully crafted language…this is a book worth reading, worth buying. It is hard to put down, though periodically necessary in order to absorb it all. Read slowly, listen.” —Ian Roy, Arc Magazine