Midwinter Day

This 120-page poem is an account of one day in the poet's life, purportedly written entirely on the shortest day in the year in 1978. By its nature, the poem is rambling and prolix, but the concentration on one day's scattered thoughts does prove occasionally illuminating. During her midwinter day, Mayer expresses ambivalence about love, family life and neighborhood; most readers will be able to identify with the positive and negative poles of her mixed feelings, and the poem does reflect how complex and layered an ordinary day can be. There are dull and muddled passages, but readers willing to accept the self-indulgences of second-generation New York School poetry will probably find the effort worthwhile.

Midwinter Day is an epic poem that describes the events of one Midwinter Day, from dreams in the morning to thoughts at night. In between, not much else happens: a walk through the city, a temper tantrum, two meals, drawing, and some dancing. Instead, Midwinter Day gives as pure of a glimpse into Mayer's head as it can, and as the poem goes on, the clarity and feeling of this grows. By part five, you're there with her watching your daughter's dance and wondering where this all fits into the whole whatever business.

This is one of my favorite poems. The rawness of the stream of consciousness narrative is spine-tingling. It is beautifully done by Mayer.

Good book, quick ship, just peachy

This is one of the most awesome poetry reading experiences I have gone through. The reflections on a day mingled with autobiography and wordplay.... I am still processing what I have just read because it defies description and imagination.

Excellent!

The skilled labor of a tender and thoughtful artist.

I've read many, many works of poetry -- sonnets, rhymed, narrative, epics, haiku, waka, free form, etc. When I first heard of Mayer's book I loved the idea of a poem about one day in winter, all written in one day.And, I hate to say it, I gave up after the first section. This is simply not my kind of poetry -- rambling and uninteresting.I'll donate the book somewhere.