I found this collection to be both comforting and challenging; I think this is because these poems espouse a profound knowledge of both the pain and beauty in the world, and when you’re really immersed in either of those extremes, it’s excruciating to be reminded of the other side. Song & Spectacle made me feel oddly similar to how the contemplation of the universe’s infinity is described in one poem: “We heard it was infinite, beyond / the beyond of the song of songs / And we tried to picture it, but it hurt … We tried to console ourselves … / pressed our eyes with fists and made gold blots ringed in violet.”

Of course, Song & Spectacle is much more than a consolation; it’s a meditation on the impossibility of the simultaneous existence of both the infinite and the finite, and sorrow and joy, in this lovable but volatile world...

See the rest of my review on my website: http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/a-comfort-and-a-chall... ( )