An Octave Above Thunder

An Octave Above Thunder presents a collection of poems spanning more than twenty years in the career of Carol Muske, who has won acclaim for work which marries sophisticated intelligence, emotional resonance, and technical craft. What most distinguishes Carol Muske's poetry is her awareness of the complicated web into which the personal and the political, the familial and the feminist, are woven. Filled with audible contemplation—invocation, echo, dreamsong, dirge—Muske's lyrical precision, assured touch, and exacting clarity make her one of the most talented poets of her generation.An Octave Above ThunderNew Poems
Like This
Sled
An Octave Above Tunder
Having Fled the Cité Universitaire (Paris, 1970)
Miracles
Blue Kashmir, '74
Benares
At the School for the Gifted
Pacemaker
Blue Rose

From Camouflage (1975)
Rendezvous with a Harp
Swansong
Freezing to Death
Child with Six Fingers
Salad Days: Nebraska, 1964
Hyena

From Skylight (1981)
The Painter's Daughter
The Invention of Cuisine
Coral Sea, 1945
Ransom
Golden Retriever
Worry
Poem
Fireflies
Chivalry
Cheap Scent
War Crimes
Census
Skylight
Special Delivery to Curtis: The Future of the World

From Wyndmere (1985)
Blood Hour
Wyndmere, Windemere
The Way a Swan Turns
China White
Anna
De-icing the Wings
Surprise
Afterwards
A Fresco
David
We Drive Through Tyndall's Theory of Sight
August, Los Angeles, Lullaby
Sounding

From Applause (1989)
Dream
After Care
Box
Pediatrics
Skid
Ideal
Immunity
Summer Cold
Monk's House, Rodmell
The Eulogy
Ex-Embassy
Applause

From Red Trousseau (1993)
To the Muse
Lucifer
Theories of Education
Frog Pond
Little L. A. Villanelle
Field Trip
In-Flight Flick
Red Trousseau
My Sister Not Painting, 1990
Prague: Two Journals (1970, 1990)
M. Butterfly
Unsent Letter
Unsent Letter 2
Unsent Letter 4
Barra de Navidad: Envoi

Carol Muske is the author of five collections of poetry and two novels, Dear Digby and Saving St. Germ. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her poetry, including Guggenheim, NEA, and Ingram-Merrill fellowships. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter.