Carey Taylor '91 writes poems rooted on the road of observation. In language clear and concise, she makes accessible the catalog of daily life: growing roses, the death of a child, sexual stirrings, work, childhood, the political state of America, or her beloved landscape of the Pacific Northwest. Ultimately, these poems will merge us onto the highway we all must travel—toward the fleeting nature of all things.
"Carey Taylor’s The Lure of Impermanence, is an impressive debut collection of poetry that deeply satisfies the ear and the mind. There is a welcomed preciseness in the crisp language, a choice selection of sharp images, a subtle ever-present musicality. There is an obvious love of storytelling. Even in the shortest poem in the book, “Not Another Morning,” from the title to the closing line the implied lonesome story is told in thirty well-chosen words: “Not Another Morning//A white cup./A silver kettle./A black crow.//A thick heart./A crust of bread. A blue toe.//A mossy bed./Track of bear./The sun low.” There is power in the understatement. Such masterful simplicity is never easy. Taylor brings an aesthetic refinement—a clarity to the dim light, darkness, and glare of the world in which we live."
—Gary Copeland Lilley, author of The Bushman’s Medicine Show