The Art of Dying

About this book

"Sarah Tolmie describes this book as "a contemporary Ars moriendi." It belongs to a rich tradition, going back to the Middle Ages and beyond, of 'Arts of ... ' books (loving, writing, painting, etc.) Compared to Trio, her previous book in MQUP's poetry series, this one is shorter - not just in its page count, but also because some of the poems are quite short, almost aphorisms. Unlike Trio, which was a collection of 120 sonnets, The Art of Dying is not married to a single form; it is basically satirical; and to an unusual extent for a poetry collection, it's more or less thesis-driven (arguing that our euphemisms and denials of death are nauseating and that the idea of a digital afterlife is folly). She adds: "A world of cheer, as you can intuit.""--