All Things Said & Done

Marita Dachsel

Marita Dachsel’s debut collection is a visceral exploration of the moments of life that stand out in the pages of a family album and the intervals of memory. She playfully and poignantly documents first crushes, first times, weddings and trips across town, across water, and across continents. Dachsel perceptively sprinkles these moments with the details photographs don’t reveal, as in “Dispatches from an Impending Marriage”: Don’t talk to me about photographers./ Nothing will capture this. A printed paper/ will only mock—/ a gaudy misrepresentation/ a plastic jesus on the mantle—/ two dimensions of fabric, teeth and skin.

Shortlisted for the 2008 ReLit Award