Thin Glass: Poems

Thin Glass is a collection of thirty-six poems by Christine Degenaars. This is her debut book of poetry after having been published in a wide variety of literary journals and magazines.

Degenaars’ poems are confessional without being messy or grotesque, constructing a collection of work that is vulnerable yet crafted. Her poetry is honest yet reader-minded. Each poem feels straight-forward and easy to read, concealing the literary craftwork behind her language, just as a glass window is an architectural design that can go unnoticed or underappreciated.

Windows are a clear motif. Thin glass is not an image itself but rather the thing through which we see the images in the poems of Degenaars. In the opening poem “Stepping Out of Angel’s Share in Late July” the speaker asks, “What word is there for when I look / through a window and can’t tell what’s me?” Thin glass is that thing we don’t think about being there while we are looking through it, the transparent layer—both there and not—that divides the viewer from the object seen. It’s a simple but effective concept for a collection of poetry.