Description
Martha Serpas's Double Effect reimagines a principle first outlined by St. Thomas Aquinas in Summa Theologica, which considers whether an action is morally permissible if it causes harm while bringing about a good result. In resonant verse pointed by Cajun language, these poems measure the good that can come from destructive situations: maternal deprivation, spiritual poverty, mania, ecological devastation. Serpas shows that compromised marshes and the Gulf of Mexico offer surprising sustenance and clarity. Time is marked by feast days, hurricanes, celebrations, accidents, and rescues along southern Louisiana's eroding coasts. Double Effect ultimately finds joy in survival, in love, and in spiritual fulfillment.
Author: Martha Serpas
Publisher: LSU Press
Published: 08/19/2020
Pages: 88
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.31lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.21d
ISBN13: 9780807172759
ISBN10: 0807172758
BISAC Categories:
- Poetry | Women Authors
- Poetry | Subjects & Themes | Places
- Poetry | American | General
About the Author
Martha Serpas is the author of three collections of poetry, including The Diener and The Dirty Side of the Storm. Her work has appeared in the Nation, the New Yorker, the New York Times, Poetry, and elsewhere. A native of south Louisiana, she coproduced Veins in the Gulf, a documentary on Louisiana's coastal land loss. She teaches creative writing at the University of Houston and is a hospital chaplain.