Score and Bone

The two halves of Score and Bone form either side of a mobius strip, two sides of a ribbon of perception and self-observation. As in the first poem, “ Score,” with its gorgeously autonomous and slightly surreal images, the poems in the book’ s eponymous first half have a filmic quality, as if directed and observed by an omnipotent narrator-self. The second half is made up of experiences, objects, and “ The Treachery of Objects… ” The poet observes herself recovering from major surgery, first as if on film, daily rushes, with quick cuts, and then she feels as the experience deeply means— “ Isolate the pain, the size of a buffalo nickel” — staring steadily into the scar that is both companion and abyss. This is a deft, lovely, sometimes whimsical, poem-journal of recovery. -Joyce Jenkins

Maw Shein Win's most recent poetry collection is Storage Unit for the Spirit House (Omnidawn) which was nominated for the Northern California Book Award in Poetry, longlisted for the PEN America Open Book Award, and shortlisted for CALIBA's Golden Poppy Award for Poetry. She is the inaugural poet laureate of El Cerrito, CA. Win's previous collections include Invisible Gifts and two chapbooks, Ruins of a glittering palace and Score and Bone. She teaches poetry in the MFA Program at the University of San Francisco. Win’ s full-length collection Percussing the Thinking Jar (Omnidawn) is forthcoming in October, 2024. mawsheinwin.com