the Crack in Earth

A themed collection of poetry by Anne Becker, former Poet Laureate of Takoma Park. "As you enter Anne Becker's The Crack in the Earth, notice her reverence for thehuman body. In this journey from childhood to old age, the poet reckons with lifeand its alternative-death. The haiku that prefaces this collection measures thebreadth and scope of this masterful work: Two old women belliesround like the moon, likepregnancy-like childhood.The old women may be sisters or a teacher and student. They are the survivorswho live longer than their men.Occasionally, the poet breaks through to another world, a world of wonder as inthe cacophonous contrapuntal poem that gives the collection its name "TheCrack in the Earth II." It's a poem in three columns with impressionistic lines: "...we don't/know where/we are-we/crouched low/to creep through/the tunnel"and "disgorged//we are flying//out of the push/// of the breath//the air opens//thethrust the/// threat and//we're flying//" While the poem describes two childrenexploring abandoned tunnels, it suggests the act of a woman giving birth.Becker's The Crack in the Earth creates an exuberance for living that defies age."-Karren L. Alenier, editor, From the Belly: Poets Respond to Gertrude Stein'sTender Buttons, Volumes I, II, III