Horologyteetersonthebrink;“faience“and“plumbago“floattothesurfacelikeliteraryflotsambutthevesselisneverquitesunk.Wordsarestrungliketradebeadscarryingfaintsignsofmeaningalongwiththeirchieftaskofbeauty,amiraculousconjurationofsong.AsyoulookatthecollectedbonesandfeathersinthisKunstkammer,suddenlyitwrigglesfree,notashipwreck,notanarchive,butalivingcreature.Theclockandthepoemareascloseaswehavecometomakingpartscohereintoalivingorganism.ImagineVerlainetranscribinglyricsforanoperadrawnfromaBurtonianstudyofseafaringandclocks:“achanticleeroffo’c’slesongs“indeed.-MartinCorless-SmithDerekGromadzki’sHorologymarksasignificantadvancefromhisfirstbook,PilgrimageSuites,whichitself,morecompletelythanmostdebuts,announcedapoetalreadymakinghisownsound.InHorology,Gromadzkimakeshisownworld,anditisaworldshapedbyanattentiontothewordmorefocusedthananyotherIknowincontemporarypoetry.AndyetHorologyisalsoawelcomingbook.AndyetHorologyisanewpoetrymadenewagain.-ShaneMcCrae
