A Hospital Odyssey by Gwyneth Lewis
Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Denise Burch, friend of The International Poetry Library of San Francisco.
"R.S. Thomas- I can hear his voice-/ told me once that I should choose/ between fancy and imagination./ I know it's the latter that I revere..." muses Gwyneth Lewis during one of her narrative check-ins in A Hospital Odyssey. Indeed, Odyssey (Bloodaxe Books, 2010) is a wild, magical ride through Lewis's imagination: a truly epic poem that reads as a sort of Where the Wild Things Are for adults. Lewis's nimble prose leads us through this tale as we follow Maris, whose cancer-stricken husband Hardy is on his deathbed, on a dreamy adventure in search of healing and comprehension.
Maris and Hardy are separated from each other in the hospital, and the odyssey begins. Maris is joined on her journey by Wilson, a loyal greyhound; Ludlow, a doctor; and a mentor by the name of Ichabod. Navigating their way through a maze of wonder and confusion to reunite Maris and Hardy, the traveling companions encounter spiders, bacteria, viruses, and such notable figures as Marie Curie and Hippocrates. Author Lewis drops in throughout, as well, to guide the reader in her own voice ("I've said already that I won’t feel well/ till this poem's finished and I find what I mean/ about health and loving."). Lewis's rhythmic style blends myriad emotions and medical terminology seamlessly, engaging the reader to the end.
Gwyneth Lewis has crafted an amazing work of poetry in A Hospital Odyssey. This imaginative trip through the emotions of a potential widow, who wishes to understand the pathology of her husband's disease as well as save him from it, is a true must-read.
International Poetry Library San Francisco