Introduction to Christina Pugh's Poetics
Apocalyptic writing has always grappled with the question of what language can reveal when the world seems on the verge of collapse, a theme that also drives poetry.
In her 2024 collection "The Right Hand", Christina Pugh transforms this ancient tension into an inquiry of both spirit and body, inheriting the intensity of "The Book of Revelation" while moving through the material world.
To yield is a power
Her poems feature ordinary objects like needles, basil leaves, marble, and skin, approached with an alert and visionary calm, rendering apocalypse as an opening rather than an ending.
French philosopher Gaston Bachelard's idea that
to read poetry is essentially to daydreamis relevant to Pugh's work, as the daydream joins reality and imagination into one deep current, running through each poem and breathing the ache of revelation into ordinary matter.
Author's summary: Christina Pugh's poetry transforms apocalyptic tension into spiritual inquiry.