The Space Between Us: An Anthology of Confessional Verse is a collection of 41 poems written by Dominique Blodgett. This anthology is about the space that the speaker shares with the Infinite, the living and the dead. Perusing these poems is both a delight and a privilege. The reader would find himself reading on, blissfully oblivious of time and surroundings, for, like a beautifully crafted tale, this volume unfolds before the eyes of the curious reader a world peopled by real human beings having real feelings, with the poet as its fulcrum.
Shadows dance as one traverses these confessional verses. The poems in this anthology are self-contained, autonomous worlds where the heart of the poet reigns supreme. The reader doesn’t see poems; s/he sees sparks on the pages, and it is life itself that these sparks illumine. Thoughts whisper to the reader, words burn these pages and the emotions they convey hurl the reader into a soul-wrenching cathartic experience.
This anthology is also a confessional kaleidoscope that offers the reader a sneak peek into the poet’s tryst with his divine malady. It simultaneously becomes the theme and context for his poetry. The poet himself fondly addresses his illness a “companion” whom he had ‘nurtured for three decades with medicines’.
The rhetorical question “Is it God's curse on me that it is spread beautifully from head to toe?” reverberates in the heart of the reader even as s/he tries to make sense of the poet’s ambiguous relationship with his Creator. On the one hand, he curses God and derides life itself as a punishment dished out to him from heaven; on the other, thoughts of God and heaven occupies his mind-space and poetry-space. In the semi-allegoric tale that the poet vividly recounts, God saves the poet from the enemy proclaiming “I am your Shield and Weapon”.
Interspersed among these metaphysical and physical musings are the poet’s concern with the dead and the living, his sense of nostalgia and euphoria, and his encounters with the Reaper. Realistic yet cynical, the poet bemoans, “I am that precious stone which neither the preacher nor women desire”.
This volume is a rebellion too – a rebellion by a righteous soul against God, the inscrutable forces of nature, his ailment and ultimately against himself. The poet finds his delight in the paradox of his life. This then is the legacy that this volume trails.
(From the Foreword by Manu Mangattu, English Professor, Poet, Chief-Editor AJILE, Email: manumangattu@gmail.com)