The History Of Breathing

A new poetry collection considers the relationship between sound and meaning, and the significance of the pause in language.

The Etruscan language knew no blank spaces, no breaks between words. Its texture resembled an uninterrupted flow of speech—more singing than speaking, more form than content. Only in the dictum of the pause and the meaningful fragmentation of the breath does language become comprehensible rhythmic expression. In a world full of slogans and catchphrases, Allison Grimaldi Donahue defends the poetological demand of sound over content. The History of Breathing weaves linguistics and poetry, verse and song, meaning and sound into a dense narrative about breathing, rhythm, and the gaps in language that allow words to take on meaning in the first place.

In the tradition of such poets as Charles Olsen, Alice Notley, and Sappho, Grimaldi Donahue’s poetry connects the history of breath and language with narratives about the discovery and loss of our own voice.

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