The Disappearing Act: Poems

In her first collection of poems, Sara Pirkle Hughes explores the role memory plays in shaping identity and a person’s perception of the past. The book’s title, The Disappearing Act, posits that time is a magician causing every moment in a person’s life to disappear, and every poem in the collection is the poet’s attempt to recapture what has vanished, while also acknowledging the inherent paradox of writing about the past. The fallible nature of memory makes it impossible to preserve an experience free of distortion. Born and raised in Georgia, Hughes uses the Southern tradition of storytelling as a jumping off point to examine her own personal history as well as family stories. However, nearly every poem in this award-winning collection incorporates formal elements, often fusing narrative with restrictive structures such as sonnets, pantoums, and villanelles.