AMEMORY O F T H E FUTURE

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet

A Memory of the Future is a critically acclaimed poetry collection by Elizabeth Spires, reflecting on selfhood and the search for a core identity. Inspired by Zen poetic interest, the poems explore the noisy space of the mind and the division between the social self and the artist’s private self. Through vivid attention to everyday details and imagery from places such as Manhattan, Maine, and Maryland’s Eastern shore, the collection examines how time changes us, how memory shapes identity, and how future memory becomes the memory of the past and of forgetting.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages104

Reading Time2 h 40 min

AccessFree to download

A Memory of the Future

Themes and reflections

Settings and poetic imagery

Time, memory, and identity

# E L I Z A BETH S PIRE SA M E M◎ RY ◎ F T H E ISBN 978-0-393-65105-8 USA $26.95 CAN.$35.95 ZEN-INFUSED MEDITATIONSON THE LIMITATIONS OFMEMORY,MORTALITY,ANDTHE BOUNDARIES OF HUMANEXISTENCE. A Memory of the Future,criticallyacclaimed poet Elizabeth Spiresreflects on selfhood and thesearch for a core identity.Inspired by the tradi-tion of poetic interest in Zen,Spires exploresthe noisy space of the mind,interrogating thenecessary divide between the social personathat navigates the world and the artist's secretself.With vivid,careful attention to the minutedetails of everyday moments,A Memory of theFuture observes,questions,and meditates onthe ordinary,attempting to make sense of theboundaries of existence. As the poems move from Zen reflectionsoutward into the identifiable worlds of Man-hattan,Maine,and Maryland's Eastern shore,houses,both real and imagined,becomemetaphorical extensions of the self and psy-che.These poems ask the unanswerable ques-tions that become more pressing in the secondhalf of life.How are we changed by the pas-sage of time?How does memory define andshape us?As Spires reminds us,any memoryof the future will become,paradoxically,amemory of the past,and of forgetting. . # AM E M O R Y O F T H E FU TU R E A L S O B Y E L I Z A BE T H S PIR E S POET R YGlobe Swan's IslandAnnonciadeWorldling Now the Green Blade RisesThe Wave-Maker F O R CHI L D REN With One WhiteRiddle Road The Mouse of Amherst I Am Arachne:Fifeen Greek and Roman MythsThe Big Meow I Heard God Talking to Me:William Edmondsonand His Stone Carvings E DIT O R The Instant of Knowing:Lectures,Criticism,and Occasional Prose ofJosephine Jacobsen | A M E M O RY
O F T H E
FUTU R E
P O E M S
E LI Z A BE TH S PI R E S
W.W,NO RTON &CQMPANY
/ndependent Pub/ishers Since 1923
N E W YORK LOND QN | | --- | Copyright 2018 by Elizabeth Spires All rights reserved Printed in the United States of AmericaFirst Edition For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book,write toPermissions,W.W.Norton &Company,Inc.,soo Fifth Avenue,New York,NY IOIIO For information about special discounts for bulk purchases,please contactW.W.Norton Special Sales at specialsales@wwnorton.com or 800-233-4830 Manufacturing by Versa PressBook design byJAM DesignProduction manager:Beth Steidle # Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names:Spires,Elizabeth,author. Title:A memory of the future:poems/Elizabeth Spires. Description:First edition.|New York:W.W.Norton &Company,[2018]| Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers:LCCN 20180047I|ISBN 97803936S10s8(hardcover) Classification:LCC PS3s69.Ps54 A62018|DDC 81/.54—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2o180047II W.W.Norton &Company,Inc.,soo Fifth Avenue,New York,NY.IOIIOwww.wwnorton.com W.W.Norton &Company Ltd.,IS Carlisle Street,London WID ₃BS I 234567890

FAQs

What is the central focus of A Memory of the Future?

The collection focuses on selfhood and the search for a core identity, using reflection on the mind and the self.

How does Zen influence the poems?

The poems are inspired by Zen traditions, exploring the mind’s “noisy space” and meditating on the boundaries of human existence.

What questions do the poems increasingly press as life progresses?

They ask how time changes people and how memory defines and shapes us, including how future memory turns into memories of the past and forgetting.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet