This review is from our monthly series of reviews by LIANZA members.

For when words fail us. There are times in life when words fail us. When we cannot find the words to describe/express how we feel – this could be due to anger, disbelief, or being appreciative. Dunedin-based artist and writer Claire Beynon's second book is a collection of poems that explore a long-distance relationship between two people that alters both their lives in immeasurable ways.

The idea For When Words Fail Us came from Beynon’s relationship with a man who remains anonymous. They corresponded for over eleven years through emails, blogs and other forms of communication.

A man and a woman, complete strangers, meet at an exhibition in upstate New York on a cold snowy night. At the art gallery they start a conversation and discover they have several friends in common. They are invited to a friend’s house for dinner. After dinner he drives her home to her apartment, and they exchange contact details. He’s surprised to learn that she will be returning home to New Zealand. Sometime later she receives an email from him where he mentions searching flights to New Zealand, which feels portentous.

“A twist in her stomach.
Something like recognition.
Something like dread”

The woman refers to the man as Satyr throughout the book, hinting at her concerns about him. A chapter entitled ‘Satyr and Nymphs’ highlights the importance of a painting by French artist William-Adolphe Bougeureau to the story; a painting that portrays a mythological scene of four nymphs teasing a satyr, suggesting female power and domination. It’s on display at the Met gallery, which the man visits regularly. 

“Love. Poetry. Quest. Work. 
What does the configuration matter except that
All four are attended to and each is attendance to each other.”

These words seem to sum up the relationship between the two. He arrives in Dunedin and presents her with a handprinted photograph of ‘a pear on its side, skin unblemished, softly lit, looking every bit like a woman’s skin.”                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Beynon uses time passing in an interesting manner, and the intensity of the relationship is maintained throughout. Sporadic face to face contact highlights the differences between the two, and ultimately has implications for this complicated relationship. The satyr's spartan life, 'empty of comfort', mirrors the relationship difficulties that emerge, and eventually throw the pair into a different space. 

Ultimately, Beynon’s writing is poetic, expressive and lyrical, full of magical imagery and has a wonderful sensory quality. It’s a beautifully written book, and one that readers who love narrative poetry can dip into at leisure and appreciate. 

Reviewed by Bernadette Cassidy