In A Memory of the Future, critically acclaimed poet Elizabeth Spires reflects on selfhood and the search for a core identity. Inspired by the tradition of poetic interest in Zen, Spires explores the noisy space of the mind, interrogating the necessary divide between the social persona that navigates the world and the artist’s secret self.
A Memory of the Future by Elizabeth Spires is like a cup of tea for the weary. Here she describes life unfolding in what seems to be one long day where people step on or off an escalator moving toward change and the future. Against that backdrop enduring questions arise: Who am I? Who will I be when my memory fails or I die?
A Memory of the Future is (Elizabeth's) seventh poetry collection. In these lyrical verses, Spires questions the quotidian, elevating the everyday to a meditational art form ... These poems glow with interiority—profound, intense, spiritual.
In this new poetry collection, Spires seems to channel Rumi or Buddha or both. The poems feel like prayers, and in some cases koans—each unique but all with a timeless, spiritual quality ... These little nuggets of wisdom come like offerings placed on an altar, quietly, with grace and intention.
