Virtualis: Topologies of the Unreal / David Dowker & Christine Stewart / Book*hug
“Sorrow is round/but emits sparks when squeezed”
The world of philo-poetics is an interesting realm to explore. There’s a delicate balance between the accessible and the academic (which can be scary for casual poetry readers) and subject matter tends to bend conceptual notions into frayed molecules of substance. Virtualis takes a deep dive into the topologies of melancholy, mixing baroque-esque details to explore (paint) various landscapes of its form and function.
Similar to Robert Lunday’s Gnome, Virtualis is reference-heavy, citing work from various philosophical thinkers and literary visionaries (Walter Benjamin, Jacques Lacan, Gilles Deleuze, Rimbaud, etc.) and while it can be annoying to check all those little footnotes, they provide a little more context into the direction of the poems.
As one might expect, the read is a bit on the heavy side. As one might stand and observe/contemplate art in a museum, these poems demand a bit of contemplation, if not for complete understanding then to at least view how grief and sadness can envelope circumstances, shift with regards to context, and embrace an individual’s needs with coping. It’s more abstract than concrete, but is a work that challenges perception, provides perspective, and fuels exploration into the ways these emotions enter and blend into our lives.
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