Reviewed: Wednesday January 17, 2024.Summary
"Procedures for Underground" is a book of poetry written by Canadian author Maragret Atwood and published in 1970. It is composed of forty-four poems.
My rating
3 and a half stars. My review
I started reading Atwood in 2023, and this is the second volume of poetry by her that I've read. The first, "Power Politics", quickly found its way onto my list of favourite books ever and of all time, so I was super excited to read this one, too. However, I found this volume to be a lot more divisive than the other book. I found some of the poems quite lackluster, even though Atwood writes them all with the usual competent and lyrical style. Even though some poems were bad, the ones I enjoyed, I enjoyed immensely! I highly recommend "Game After Supper" and "Delayed Message".The titular underground was understood by me to be a nebulous kind of space in which anything and everything is possible through mediation and self reflection. It's a place where metamorphosis happens, where sudden bright ideas are had, or the inverse; where shocking truths are revealed. This extraphysical space is, to Margaret Atwood, the titular underground.
I really enjoyed the books recurring motifs of lakes and water. The whole collection has a kind of watery, earthy feel about it that Atwood maintains wonderfully across poems and sections. I really admire writers and poets who are able to consistently maintain that kind of dense atmosphere. Overall, while I didn't like this volume as much as "Power Politics", I think that "Procedures for Underground" is a solid and overall enjoyable read for a rainy, moody afternoon.
Procedures For Underground
(Northwest Coast)
The country beneath
the earth has a green sun
and the rivers flow backwards;
the trees and rocks are the same
asthey are here, but shifted.
Those who live there are always hungry;
from them you can learn
wisdom and great power,
if you can descent and return safely.
You must look for tunnels, animal
burrows or the cave in the sea
guarded by the stone man;
when you are down you will find
those who were once your friends
but they will by changed and dangerous
Resist them, be careful
never to eat their food.
Afterwards, if you live, you will be able
to see them when they prowl as winds,
as thin sounds in our village. You will
tell us their names, what they want, who
has made them angry by forgetting them.
For this gift, as for all gifts, you must
suffer: those from the underland
will be always with you, whispering their
complaints, beckoning you
back down; while among us here
you will walk wrapped in an invisible
cloak. Few will seek your help
with love, none without fear.
(Northwest Coast)
The country beneath
the earth has a green sun
and the rivers flow backwards;
the trees and rocks are the same
asthey are here, but shifted.
Those who live there are always hungry;
from them you can learn
wisdom and great power,
if you can descent and return safely.
You must look for tunnels, animal
burrows or the cave in the sea
guarded by the stone man;
when you are down you will find
those who were once your friends
but they will by changed and dangerous
Resist them, be careful
never to eat their food.
Afterwards, if you live, you will be able
to see them when they prowl as winds,
as thin sounds in our village. You will
tell us their names, what they want, who
has made them angry by forgetting them.
For this gift, as for all gifts, you must
suffer: those from the underland
will be always with you, whispering their
complaints, beckoning you
back down; while among us here
you will walk wrapped in an invisible
cloak. Few will seek your help
with love, none without fear.