On the cusp of a dangerous year - Roripaugh, Lee Ann (Crab Orchard Review, 2009)
Lady Murasaki wrote in The Tale of Genji that thirty-seven is "a dangerous year" for women. Evoking the styles of Murasaki and other women writers of the Heian-period Japanese court, Lee Ann Roripaugh presents a collection of confessional poems charting the course of that perilous year. Roripaugh, in both an homage to and a dialogue with women writers of the past, explores the trials of women facing the treacherous waters of time while losing none of the grace and decadence of femininity. Often calling upon the passing of the seasons and revelations of nature, these lyrical