Memory House, review by Elizabeth St Jacques, Canadian Book Review Annual

     Carolyn Zonailo, the author of six previous books, describes herself as a lyric poet who uses memory and personal experience in order "to shed light on our collective human experience." The 26 poems in this collection succeed in doing just that.

     In the first group of poems, subtitled "In the House of God," the poet as wife/mother/friend/observer experiences pain, loneliness, and rejection, and derives comfort and strength from memories that harbor "a green space to enter, / a quiet space to rest" ("Among Strangers"). When beauty and love weave through her world, "the unseen / mystery of it all" is cherished ("A Summer Swim").

     In the last section of the book, "In the House of Childhood Dreams," Zonailo revisits a rich storehouse filled with such delightful childhood memories as her bedroom in the attic, a witch’s house, her Grandpa's summer visits, junk collections, and the values of her Russian family. But Zonailo is not blind to imperfection. In "Old Photographs," for example, she sees herself from the ages of 20 to 40, her eyes forever imploring the photographer to see that "a space inside of me / was made for you alone to enter."

     Zonailo's poems ring like mellow bells—clean, vivid, vibrant, brilliant. Running through this deceptively simple collection are deep currents that embrace humankind as a whole, and that issue a plea to keep sacred "the child's dreaming soul."

Copyright by Elizabeth St Jacques: www.carolynzonailo.com, 2004.