In this expansive collection of poems, Catharine Savage Brosman surveys life in contemporary New York, wartime France, and medieval Europe. Along with imaginative scope, these poems attend to the particulars of persons such as Clara from the title poem, Catharine herself, saints, and soldiers. The maturity of Brosman’s voice allows her to easily shift between moving narrative, vivid images, and precise diction, maintaining a unity of purpose and vision throughout.
Brosman’s Clara’s Bees is an important collection from one of the most accomplished poets of her generation. It is not to be missed.