You attempt merely poweryou accomplish merely suffering - pg. 32The collection is divided into four sections. Each section begins with a short poem, reminiscent of the way some books are interspersed with quotations or blurbs at the beginning of chapters or what have you.The first part begins...you fit into melike a hook into an eyea fish hook an open eye - pg. 1How the short poem relates to the poems in the corresponding section isn't apparent. That which is present in this introductory poem is present in the poems throughout the collection. That being a preoccupation with the body, often taking a morbid perspective, accompanied by violent imagery that serves as a euphemism or analogy for some aspect of interpersonal relationships... You take my hand andI'm suddenly in a bad movie,it goes on and on andwhy am I fascinated - pg. 3I will suspend my search forgerms if you will keep your fingers off the microfilmhidden inside my skin - Their attitudes differ, 1 (pg. 10)You drift down the streetin the rain, your facedissolving, changing shape, the coloursrunning togetherMy walls absorb you, breathe you forthagain, you resumeyourself, I do not recognize youYou rest on the bedwatching me watchingyou, we will never knoweach other any betterthan we do now - pg. 14The second part begins...Imperialist, keep offthe trees I said.No use: you walk backwards,admiring your own footprints. - pg. 15Likewise, the poems of the second part follow a sort of backwards logic, contradictions, misgivings... Which begs the question, who is admiring their footprints: Atwood, the reader, or someone else representative of something else? Who is the Imperialist?...These days my fingers bleedeven before I bite themCan't play it safe, can't playat all any moreLet's go back pleaseto the games, they weremore fun and less painful - Small tactics, 1 (pg. 17)Of course your liesare more amusing:you make them new each time.Your truths, painful and boringrepeat themselves over & overperhaps because you ownso few of them - pg. 24you become slowly more public,in a year there will be nothing leftof you but a megaphone - pg. 30The third part begins...Returning from the deadused to be something I did wellI began asking why I began forgetting how - pg. 39The third part is characterized by undertones (or overtones) of morbidity and foreboding...I lie mutilated besideyou; beneath us there aresirens, fires, the people runsquealing, the cityis crushed and gutted,the ends of your fingers bleedfrom 1000 murders - pg. 47
While I have been loosely familiar with Atwood's work for some time (having read bits of The Penelopiad and assorted individual poems--including "Half-Hanged Mary") this is my first foray into any of her complete texts. The poems of Power Politics fit together into a large sequence that tells of the relations between (presumably) men and women, focusing on the complexities of love and romance and power within those relationships. Most poems in the collection are untitled, which adds to the effective connectedness of the pieces. As there is only a small marker to denote a new poem, but no title, it is possible to simply roll from one poem to the next while still being aware of where a poem begins or ends. Atwood's exploration of the tenuous connection between people is most effective, with statements like "nothing//remembers you but the bruises/on my thighs and the inside of my skull" and "You did it/it was you who started the countdown." She gets at the center of the push and pull that romance can become, frequently invoking images of judgement, of mutual cruelty ("We are hard on each other/and call it honesty"), and even of abuse to show that power and its politics are sickly interactions when intimate. Her poetry sings, further driving home her illustrations of deceit, confusion, and pain:yes at first yougo down smooth aspills, all of mebreathes you in and then it'sa kick in the head, orangeand brutal, sharp jewelshit and myhair splintersthe adjectivesfall away from me She creates a space where distress becomes music and so makes it all the easier to take in and make use of, to turn poetry into knowledge by its lyricism. Atwood is also unafraid to use the dark humor that appears in some of her other work (like her poem "Siren Song") to get at the underside of relationships:there was once, not solong ago, you failed,and came back in a wheelchairwith a moustache and a sunburnand were insufferable.Time before last though, I rememberi had a good eight months betweenrunning alongside the train, skirts hitched, handingyou violets in at the windowand opening the letter; I watchedyour snapshot fade for twenty years. She points out the mixed emotions that can accompany different relationships and uses this dry, barely present humor to force a realization of the confusion inherent in hopes and expectations for any sort of interaction. The poems of Power Politics all get at this paradox and do so in a fluid and engaging style.
What do You think about Power Politics: Poems (1996)?
I read through this entire collection a couple of times, and individual poems within the collection four or five times, others more than that. I enjoyed this collection quite a lot, there were some very profound and complex poems in this collection. They all have a theme of a power struggle, although I'm unsure if it was a power struggle between two people or the poems was referring to the power struggle one has with them self. I think there were a few of the poems in this collection, that were referring to someone's inner struggle with themselves. Some of the poems, just seemed to have that feel to it, a very intimate, but personal struggle with one's self. All of the poems, are filled with Atwood's usually style of writing, shocking, blunt, but beautifully written. I was immediately drawn in, and immediately re-read the collection. Overall an excellent collection of poetry, and one that will likely disappoint fans of the author. Also found on my book review blog Jules' Book Reviews - Power Politics
—Julie
One of the best books of Margaret Atwood's poetry. The relationships negotiated in the poems are laced with sharp wit and at times venomous sarcasm.
—Jdub_NYC
