"Marlis . . . is a good-natured and empathetic poet whose light philosophizing begins in simple things: buttons, sand, stars, flowers. . . . In her tranquil verse, Marlis prefers a world 'where kindness is possible, ' where we must soften ourselves for love. The abundance suggested by the title ('there's so much of so much") is spoken to by a lexicon of 15 impressionistic 'definitions, ' each of them an association of images built up from a word."-Kirkus Reviews
"rife is Stefanie Marlis's most complex book, her most experimental. It spins faster on postmodern prayerwheels. The title poem is one of a series of 'definition' poems, poems that seem to spark off the dictionary and its 'free play of signifiers.' And these poems have an open-ended, indeterminate quality that feels new in her work. The poem oscillates between 'abundance, ' with its connotations of richness, and 'rife, ' with its more weedy, out of control association."-Poetry Flash
"rife beautifully indulges the joy in wordplay all language lovers have. In each poem is a delightful discovery, a surprise in recognizing the event and the exactness of the poem's meaning and imagery. Stefanie Marlis has exceptional talent in both metaphor and revelation; her images subtly build into fresh vision. The poem 'The World' describes bravery in the attempt to rewrite a friend's life, like 'a threaded needle pu