Ark (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Ronald Johnson
- First Published: 1996
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Genres: Free verse, Poetry
- Subjects: Language or languages, Philosophy or philosophers, Religion, Human race, Metaphysics, Life and death, Architecture or architects, Allusions
An “ark” is a boat that carries the survivors; the chest containing the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets, carried by the Hebrews during their desert wanderings, also called “ark of the covenant” and thus the Holy Ark; the boat built by Noah for survival during the Flood; or a place of shelter or refuge. Ronald Johnson’s Ark calls to mind all of these definitions. Johnson tells readers in “A Note” at the end of Ark that the work is “Literally an architecture . . . fitted together with shards of language, in a kind of cement of music.” A poetic...
[The entire page is 1981 words long]
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