Mary Kennan Herbert: AN INVENTORY OF FRAGILE KNOWLEDGE. Ginninderra Press, ACT, Australia 2000. Mary Kennan Herbert's collection An Inventory of Fragile Knowledge is poignantly autobiographical and confessional. The poems also provide a glimpse into American life, history and stereotypes, the private life inextricably entwined with the public realm. The collection is analogous to the notebook described in "Collecting colours": something to share if found: my inventory of fragile knowledge. Kennan Herbert eloquently chronicles the memories which have shaped her life and contributed to her identity as a daughter, sister, wife, mother and poet. Moments of intense pain and lost opportunity are interspersed with fleeting instances of pure joy and satisfaction to convey how these various roles have determined the course of her existence. A raw honesty underscores the poems. "One princess, four knights" deftly hints at the 'armour' women are still so often compelled to adopt in a society which frequently condemns displays of emotion. The climactic victory of finally being granted permission by her four brothers to play with them is immediately deflated when her mother 'tsked tsked' her for complaining about the pain experienced upon the extraction of two teeth. Reflecting the emotionally paralysed, male-dominated nature of the (western) world, particularly during what is presumably the 1950s or 1960s, her mother simply advises 'be brave like a boy'. The ensuing poem, "Rescuing Dad", further explores the painful memory of lack of parental tenderness and affection in the episode where her attempt to steady her father 'as he crossed through a drift' during a 'pristine storm' is abruptly shaken off. Disheartened and saddened, even forty years later, she recalls how she then 'watched him brush of his coat sleeve,/brushing off the wet snow or perhaps, yes/flicking away any trace of my hand'. "Decisions" offers a starkly contrasting glimpse into the all-encompassing and glorious experience of 'love': A perfect day in Tennessee. I am delighted with the discovery of wanting someone, and the hoots and jeers at home naturally cannot dissuade me from orbiting around him, daydreaming. The collection then suddenly and dramatically leaps forward in time in "A beautiful bowl" which the reader discovers is in fact literally the 'booty of divorce'. This juxtaposition of initiation into the opposing realms of love and divorce introduces the notion of crushed ideals which is then expanded upon in the ensuing four poems about her son and daughter. The poet provides a poignant insight into the reality of parenthood, the pain parents experience as their children grow up and move away. Kennan Herbert's belief, for example, that she and her son 'were the best/of friends' is deftly negated by the realisation that 'The doe and her fawn-/the bond was powerful and sweet. But he grew up.' From the realm of the family the reader is plunged into the equally frustrating world of the poet. "Stolen prayers" is effectively conveys the personal affront experienced upon receiving no response to or rejection of her poetry: yesterday mail from our street was stolen by crackheads ... I will never hear about the glorious ascension or publication of those poems stillborn ... I still feel the miscarriage of letters never to arrive ... prayers in orbit overhead don't tell me I know but thanks for listening. The poem would arguably have been an apt conclusion to the collection. The final poem, "Assume crash position", seems to hang somewhat in limbo and adopt a different tone to the preceding poems. This should not, however, detract from the deeply honest nature of Mary Kennan Herbert's work which is adroitly crafted to convey highly personal episodes. The shards of memories she shares render this collection both highly enjoyable and moving.

Reviewed by Nicole Dean, 1 September 2000

A Path Clearly Marked. A history of verse by Mary K. Herbert. Ginninderra Press, ACT, Australia 1999. Mary Herbert's A Path Clearly Marked explores the way in which memories, prominent events and impressionable figures play a profound role in shaping who we are and in carving out our identity. Herbert's themes are not unusual, in fact they are well worn and familiar to every reader but what makes her work unique is the fact that it is her story, her experiences and her journey to grapple with her own identity. Herbert deals with two facets intrinsic to her life, that of the transience of life and of the permanence of memories and rituals. She interweaves the awareness of change, of loss and of moving on with the desire to hold fast to childhood events, family traditions and inspirational figures. Herbert's piece moves in and out of the past and present playing with time and milieu. Written in the form of stream of consciousness, it leaps swiftly from thought to anecdote to story to reflection. A Path Clearly Marked gives the reader the impression that Herbert is not only trying to etch out her existence but also trying to establish her own immortality by leaving behind her own story. The human story she shares with us is both universal and deeply personal. I found an affinity with her work because her journey of self awareness is something we all share and her insistence on making sense of experience is something we all pursue. Beyond that however the work left me largely unmoved, in that it seemed to lack a certain 'something' in both content and style to make it a genuinely riveting piece of writing. Ultimately I found my interest drifting and I was left feeling rather indifferent towards the piece as a whole.

Reviewed by Stacey McCullough, 7 September 2000