Making Lists for Frances Hodgkins

Inspired by an invitation to a recent exhibition of Frances Hodgkins' paintings, this poetic memoir written "in the light of art" opens with a selection of poems that focus on eight of Frances Hodgkins' works, listing their impacts and delights. The following chapter includes a number of lyrical autobiographical poems about the role art has played in the poet's life. In the third section, art and poetry intermingle in the works of some favorite artists—such as Jenny Bornholdt, Sophie Calle, and Deborah Smith—and also in the context of a recent illness. Finally, a long letter-poem to Hawaii-based writer Anne Kennedy ties the main themes together.