Slow Fuse of the Possible

'Daniels is a keen observer of visceral moments and powerful emotions.' -Kirkus Reviews A book of burning soulfulness. Edward HirschAn engrossing and beautifully crafted memoir of imagination, obsession, and disaster from the couch of old-fashioned four-times-a-week psychoanalysis.Slow Fuse of the Possible is a poet s narrative of a troubled psychoanalysis. It is also a commanding meditation on the powers of language, for good and for ill.From the beginning of their time together, it is clear that the enigmatic analyst and Daniels are not a good match, yet both are determined to continue their work the former in nearly complete silence, and the latter as best she can with the tools at her disposal: careful attention to language, deep reading, and literary imagination. Throughout, the story is filtered through the mind of Emily Dickinson, whose poetry Daniels uses as a fulcrum for the interpretation of her own experience. The book is saturated with Dickinson s verse, and Dickinson is an increasingly haunting presence as crises emerge and the author unravels.This compelling lyric memoir, so richly steeped in all facets of language and the literary, allows readers a glimpse into the mind of a renowned poet, revealing the dazzling and anguished connections between poetry and psychoanalysis.