Encomiums for Ordination Right

Sara Rahimi
Aria Ligi’s poems always touch upon the deepest human feelings we can experience. Whether it’s at our highest point of pure joy or whether it references the harsher parts of reality, such as abuse, she manages to choose the proper words to reflect the experience people go through. I’d, therefore, say her poetry should be read as an emotional journey, where you’re forced to step into the shoes of someone else. If you’re willing to widen your horizon and learn more and read beautiful words, I’d recommend this book by Aria Ligi.

I. Wright

I was excited to hear about this book. If you’re looking for great, new voices in poetry, Z Publishing has done a lot of the leg work for you. But I was thrilled to see a familiar poet in the selection as well – Aria Ligi. The piece of hers that made it into this book is short but packs a punch that will linger. It’s called “Ordination Right” – dark, yet soothing in its truth. Thank you, Aria. Thank you Z Publishing.

5-STARS BUY RECOMMENDATION ON THIS ONE. Aria Ligi, @arialigi on Twitter, and chief editor of the New Poetry Magazine, arialigi.com, is among the poets whose work is featured in this great anthology. Her poem Ordination Right is one of the many outstanding poems in this book, which I heartily recommend buying. In Ordination Right, Ligi writes deeply moving verse brilliantly capturing the pathos of a woman whose virginity gets stolen by force. It describes the traumatic moment of betrayal when a young woman’s trust is used by the criminal to his advantage. It portrays the gaping wound resulting from an unconsented-to taking of innocence. The genius of Ligi’s poem is that it strives to show how rape is not only an assault to the body but also attempted murder of a young woman’s soul. The imagery of the “red river’s cup” and “perpetual stain” conveys palpably the physical pain the menstruating victim experiences and the continuing emotional pain her assailant chains her with, not for a few moments, but for the rest of her life. 
5–stars recommendation to BUY
J. John Nordstrom, Novelist, and Poet, @NordstromJoe on Twitter, 11/5/17.

FIVE+++ STARS! MUST BUY & MUST READ / I want to highlight the special author whose poem is published in this book, Aria Ligi, @arialigi on Twitter, arialigi.com. Her short poem “Ordination Right” is a red spark from a bloody wheel of feelings and images which was burnt in pain and now only memory is twisting it with skirrs, just like an anile curse of curtained mirrors. This spark is falling in our withered and athirst society full of dust-inked papers… what for? To admonish one more time! Because this poem is not about just bad experience from the past, it is a living monument carved from words who are standing and confronting you, naked, honest, ready to be read by you with a gentle touch of your eyes and heart. It is very important to read it not only once and to remember it. I highly recommend to purchase this book even if you will like only Aria’s poem, it deserves it!
5-stars recommendation to BUY
Stan Lauk-Dubitsky, Artist and Poet, 11/7/17.

Linda Middleton

Aria Ligi’s “Ordination Right” synthesizes the Gothic and Miltonic to comment on a timeless theme.  Ligi goes “low” from the first line, but one does not anticipate how deeply this poem will reach into the sources of archetypal appetite.  There is no “right” order to the rite Ligi traces.  Yet her alliterative lines lead the mind into disorderly descent toward a deceptive pristine glimmer at the end of this lyric tunnel, drawing the reader in, at last, with no serpent to blame for the seduction.  Ligi’s short, beautiful poem displays its writer’s knowledge of poetic conventions and her bravery to use them with innovation that speaks to a multitude of taboos, from original sin to the addictions of the present.

Ms. Aria Ligi

Is a poet of immense talent who has written on a wide range of topics and times, her poems, range from contemporary issues deep into time ancient and dusty, but they live through her pen. Her power with words and the delicate deeply human heart borne by them is remarkable. You cannot scan a line of her work, without a sense of the heart and soul that powers those thoughts.

Her poem included in this collection ORDINATION RIGHT – carries such intensity and in its spare dark language bears so much of darkness and danger we can only shiver to scan its spare lines.

“Skulking usurper, teething seraph’s entrails” talk a walk with Ms. Ligi – you’ll remember each step.

Take a walk in her timeless garden and visit the world that Ms. Ligi offers us, you will be richer for the visit. And as you enter, and the tapestry parts, take a minute, breathe that rare air, and look at the special light that paints the room. You’ll be the better for it.

Richard W. Spisak Jr.
 

Benedict Stuart, Author
Excellent poetic pieces. This is an anthology by young and very talented authors. The contrast between the big city, bright lights, and unspoilt wild natural environment are remarkable in the sense of its powerful symbolism. Certainly, the allusion of the various states and depths of the human soul, be it emotionally distressed, struggling, aspiring, dreaming etc., is definitely not accidental. A bright example of the latter could be found in the poem by Aria Ligi et al.


Lisa Schiro
Aria Ligi’s “Ordination Right” calls back the days of true poetic verse, a time mastered by Byron, Shelley & Keats, while structured with the brilliance of line found in Shakespeare. All of this with dark and hauntingly beautiful imagery found in Poe, to the self-loathing, yet profoundly captivating voice of Sylvia Plath. I find myself drawn in by the voice of the narrator, feeling the words as my own journey propelled down his lost path, with the hope for a saving grace that shall pull him out of an eternal loss, which he has condemned himself to for eternity. As tears stain my cheeks I await another response, a reprieve yet knowing this shall be where it ends…alone and unseen, forever chained by the choices made that cannot be undone. Aria’s work is what a true lover of poetry lives for, emotional, intriguing but yet structured in classic style with purpose and intent unlike the free verse so popular of late. I highly recommend this riveting piece of literature and crave more. In a world of the modern unstructured prose that has prevailed for so long, I crave the comfort of deep meaningful constructed words that stay with me long after the book has closed. Thank you for bringing me home to the poetry I adore, it hasn’t been lost to the ages with Aria Ligi and others like her I have found home again!

  V
 
5.0 out of 5 starsSo many wonderful works!
November 20, 2017

What a wonderful anthology with some amazing poets, but “A Poem to Prove You Snore” by Michaela Muckell is definitely the piece that speaks to me the most, which is interesting because I don’t think it’s related to my life at all. I truly feel the reality she depicts even though it’s not my own. I usually need to have some connection to its topic in order to enjoy a poem, but this poet was able to paint such real images and movement that not only am I able to see her meaning, I feel it too. Every time I read it, I uncover a little more of my emotional pull toward it – it truly has a life of its own. I hope to be able to read more works by Michaela Muckell in the future. She has such an incredible way of creating images, movement, and nuanced emotion in the reader.
One person found this helpful

Write it Strong

5.0 out of 5 starsOrdination Right, by Aria Ligi, is a profoundly chiseled work of art that reaches into the depth of human emotion

November 13, 2017

Speaking specifically about Aria Ligi’s poem, Ordination Right, I was astounded by the depth of emotion it evoked in such a pristinely distilled piece. The skill it takes to craft in this way is commendable beyond measure. As a writer and poet, but mostly speaking from the point of view of a professional editor of a wide range of writing, I find this piece by Aria one of true poetic perfection. A masterpiece that deserves widespread recognition.
~ Leslie Caplan, writeitstrong.com

“Aria’s “Ordination Right” has a beautiful atmospheric feel to it. Not only can you feel her verses vibrate through you, but you can see the words she writes like a scene playing before you. Her ability to craft such beauty and imagination into words is evident in this poem and all of her poems I’ve read over the years. There’s a particular feeling I get whenever I read her work that cannot be compared to any poet today. It’s euphoric and eerie in the most pleasant way. “Ordination Right” is just one fine example of this wonderful poets talent. Once you read her work, her verses will ring inside your head all day long. She is a poet that should not be missed.”
by Loren Henmi

Jim Boydston

5.0 out of 5 stars have to love any collection of works that include anything from Aria …

November 4, 2017

I have to love any collection of works that include anything from Aria Ligi. She writes with immense depth and passion about all manner of subjects. She explores the gamut of emotions, and everything she writes about exudes love, first and foremost.

Her historical perspective is profound. As an example, she has used her incredible talent to reveal historical truths about Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, completely debunking the awful fake history about them, and she has done it with love, beauty, and truth.

And, I second everything Richard Spisak said.

It’s hard to say I ‘like’ the poem ‘Ordination Rite” by Aria Ligi because it is so dark, but as a victim of sexual abuse, I can deeply relate to the confusion of being molested and the arousal of sexual feelings and emotions. The words penned by Aria are so stirring that there is no doubt they come from the depths of pain only one who has been abused can express.

Michael King

The poem, “Ordination Rite,” offers readers a rich taste of what can be a much greater indulgence, if one seeks the vast expanse of intrigue this artist has created. Aria Ligi’s gift for the presentation of humanity in luscious lyricism should lure readers with exceptional taste to divulge so much further into the ever-deepening depths of her dedication to a contemporary renaissance unparalleled. “Ordination Rite” shines perhaps so brightly that readers might consider it a pinnacle, while a treasure of equally superior work awaits.

V. Hadsell

This book has a wonderful variety of excellent poems. The styles and themes are all different, yet I am pleasantly surprised to find that all of the poets are very talented!
I was especially pleased to see Aria Ligi’s “Ordination Rite” in this book. I have had the pleasure of reading many of Aria’s poems. I love the way she writes about many different historical time periods, yet never seems stuffy. I always end up wanting to learn more about her source subject matter, and all of her poems always evoke complex and deep emotions. As usual, “Ordination Rite” packs a huge punch to the gut in a neat little package. Great work!

The language in “Ordination Right” by Aria Ligi is dark, old-fashioned, and beautiful. It could not have been written any other way. When read aloud, it is very dramatic and you can SEE it being performed by a poet with drama – in voice, in actions, in facial movements, hands, body…this is a very active, dark poem. I love the negative capability of the last line. What happened? This is a perfect place for the reader to come into the poem and decide for themselves – what happens next. I don’t know the history of the Ordination Right but that doesn’t matter. I love the language of it. Aria wrote a haunting, evil, lovely poem. I don’t need to know anything more.

Richard Merli

Aria Ligi’s poem, “Ordination Right,” conveys the power of neo-classical poetic work in an economy of space. In seven lines, Ms. Ligi summons the symbols of figurative language to deliver a devastating commentary on the seemingly all-pervasive phenomenon of predation and sexual harassment in our time. We need not read it as a gilded reference to the apocryphal events of the Garden of Eden, or the phenomenon of Original Sin. Rather, we should see in it a masterful command of language to expose the folly and wickedness of human behavior in what is generally considered the apex of human civilization. With an economy of words, Ms. Ligi lays open the basic flaws of human nature to reveal the beast within man.

Laura Bailey

There are many wonderful poets in this new anthology. It is great hearing young voices singing out loudly and proudly. Among them, Aria Ligi stands out with her short poem, “Ordination Right” most incisively and powerfully as a hymn against tyranny and oppression. Highly recommend the purchase of this publication.

J. Swarts

There are some great pieces here, in particular, ‘Ordination Rite” by Aria Ligi. Her poem conveys the destruction of innocence, through the severe and horrible abuse seen by some children, in a concise powerful punch exposing raw evil.

Nessa

‘Ordination Right’ by Aria Ligi caught my eye due to its shortness and power, complete with surprising internal rhymes and amazing language combined with a metaphor that stuns. Well done!

Melanie J. Simms

Wonderful poems, ALL of them. My favorite was written by poet Aria Ligi. So great to see this talented collection of poems and I will continue to savor them …

Dom

Aria Ligi’s poem “Ordination Right” marks the experience of taking in the bounty provided by the senses, the desire to be fully engaged with passion, in the ecstasy that life has to offer. Great anthology overall.

Manford Blacksher

Aria-Ligi___Ordination-Right

Aria Ligi has devoted years to studying poetic forms from the Renaissance to the late-Victorian period. Her poetry sounds like no one else’s because her ear is so thoroughly tuned to the voices of earlier poets. What’s terrific about her work is that she takes the richness of poetic antecedents and employs tactics of rhythm and diction to speak to our modern (or postmodern, if you like) sensibilities. In “Ordination Right,” Ligi is working with the motifs of the “rake’s progress” and the prodigal son’s realization of moral “wisdom” through suffering the effects of wasting his youth in debauchery. The poem is ultimately a figured account of how another contemporary “wastrel” has been debased and, we suspect, put in bondage.

But Ligi is cunning in not identifying the “wastrel” until the poem’s final phrase, and she’s careful to qualify that the process of devaluation the prodigal suffers. The sufferer only seems to be involved in degradation and bondage insofar as he—or she—has left herself open and vulnerable to some other destructive agent’s invasion. Until the very end, the victim is identified as an ‘embodied’ terrain, which some other predator or parasite penetrates, injures, robs of vitality, and finally germinates the wound created with his irredeemable “stain.”

This isn’t the clichéd eighteenth-century object lesson of the moral turpitude that must result when the prodigal son wastes his talents in fashionable living. It’s a contemporary reflection on what happens to young women who are complete and sound until, as the patriarchal conventions of sexualized violence allow, a ‘romantic lover’ naturally invades and infects them. And the irony is that, having corrupted a woman with the experience of forced or illicit invasion, the perpetrator—like a “ferret” or snake or maggot—remains blameless as he leaves the host body he has defiled with the appalling awareness of intrusion and the lasting infection his temporary presence invests in the host’s most private sense of herself. Aware of having been violated, the young woman discovers that ‘moral society’ naturally condemns her as the profligate “wastrel” who has deliberately wasted her integrity by being vulnerable to intrusion. The interloper is absolved of blame. He is an amoral animal whose nature is to force entry into victims and leave the corruption that is not only abominable for the host to live with but that the host must conceal as secret. If she complains, she will be denounced as the promiscuous waster of all her virtues and divine gifts.

But Ligi identifies this grotesque injustice—not as a problem of predestination but of politics. The “ordination” is the inevitable injury that puts all things in their places. The parasite’s act ‘orients’ everything as it ‘should’ be. The male violator establishes his superiority by destroying another’s integrity—as his socially approved ‘nature’ requires. The woman takes her socially accepted place as ‘used goods’, a diminished condition that ‘naturally’ leaves her “chained” to the condemning community that has many efficient uses for the feckless women who have allowed themselves to be ‘lost’. Ligi contends that the act that orients and ordains these roles—violator and victim—are prerogatives of politics. A minister or judge might claim that the end result is proof of religious doctrines that demand ‘weak’ women be controlled, but, for Ligi, men’s ‘holy’ dominion over women is legislated by the public community—represented by the fathers of families and other men who enjoy the prerogatives of wealth and social capital. For women to fully revoke the privileges of their violators, they would need to speak out together as citizens and force their violators to acknowledge the hypocrisy of their self-“ordained rights.”

In some lights, Ligi’s poem is just an extension of arguments made against patriarchal authority by feminist thinkers of the high Enlightenment. Only a savage society could witness citizens being casually abused and then publicly denounce these victims for their susceptibility to being injured. Our recent discussions of widespread charges that eminent men of industry, the creative arts, and political power have exploited social superiority to take whatever sexual opportunities were ‘available’ to them should force us all to question whether we have been complicit in the ‘just’ punishment of a nation of ‘prodigal daughters’.

James Hercules Sutton

Aria Ligi’s poem is worth reading. It has a medieval feel to it.

B.W. Van Alstyne

I just had the privilege of reading Aria Ligi’s poem, “Ordination Rite.” As always, I am catching a glimpse into how she sees the world around her, expressed in part through her cleverly crafted command and use of the English language; eliciting such thoughts in me that demand exploration. Truly wonderful!

 I very much like the powerful poem, Ordinance Rite. in this great Anthology, written by the highly talented Aria Ligi. She tackles a difficult subject with great imaginative insight, verve and language skills par excellence

Susie Reynolds, prose editor of Chimera Magazine for ten years and author of Dangerous Angel and 69.

Harte Weiner

I write to recommend a specific poem in the anthology, “Ordination Right,” by the poet Aria. The language is pristine, evocative, and complex. The poem is all of a piece, both visceral and beautiful.
Dr. Harte Weiner, Cambridge Editors

Amazon Customer

Ordination Right – Very well written with a harmonious selection of words. Great job!!

CVH

I love the works of Aria Ligi. Having read “Temple of Love “prior I was especially excited to see her work as part of this wonderful collection. Beautiful and exciting work here!

Tranquility

Reading collections of different new poets its’ like going to a new restaurant and being able to taste a tiny bit of every dish on the menu and then decide which one to choose for one’s dinner. This book gives an opportunity of reading the works of people that otherwise I wouldn’t have never read of heard of. I was delighted to find among other excellent pieces a lovely short poem by Aria Ligi titled: “Ordination Rights” written in her unique romantic poetic style. A few years ago, I had read in my kindle Aria Ligi’s work “Temple of Love” a series of poems about the ill-fated and unfairly portrayed by history Marie Antoinette queen of France which I enjoyed very much and in fact stimulated my interest in her and that period of history. I’m happy that she deservingly has been included in this worthy book. All together this is an inspiring book for poets and lovers of poetry alike.

Amazon Customer

Ordination Right
With such power and skill, Aria Ligi has captured the horror a person of abuse goes through. This piece haunts one with images of predation. Power, over the pure, and then what’s left; the wastrel chained.
Aria certainly has a unique way of conveying a message.

Ian Wall

I was very impressed with Aria Ligi’s poem, Ordination Right. The language is evocative and powerful, with complex structure and interesting internal rhyming. A brilliant poem. Ian Wall.

Fran Childress

I am partial to the state of New York, therefore, the anthology of emerging poets from this great state is an interest to me. One such admission I found to be remarkable is the “Ordination Right” by Aria Ligi.
The poem pervades a primeval emotion; the darkened depth of a precarious curiosity most of us intermittently encounter in our lives. We can relate to its unsought journey of darkness. Well done!!

Jason Buhagiar

Excellent poetic pieces. This was a really great read the entire way through and I am really impressed with the talent of these young poets​.
​I was thrilled to find an outstanding short poem in a very creative unique romantic style by Aria Ligi: “Ordination Right”.
I am ​really excited to see more from​ this​ ​prominent author in the future​.  Keep up the good work ​ Aria!

Karen Graham

Aria Ligi’s “Ordination Right” gave me pause. The words speak of a dark place, perhaps one only found in our fantasies, but ugly and filled with evil. I got the impression that evil was released into the world. Miss Ligi has a wonderful way with words and she succeeds in painting a graphic picture of evil’s ordination into the prince of darkness.

Steve Cosgrove

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Aria Ligi’s ‘ordination Right, although its subject matter is very dark and disturbing, it is meticulously crafted, immensely engaging and brimming with pathos.

Dominic M. Windram

I’m very impressed with the wide array of contemporary poetic voices featured in this anthology. I was particularly struck by the poem – ‘ Ordination Right’ by Aria Ligi. In the light of recent events, I feel that it articulately reflects the deep-seated personal hurt and abuse so many women have suffered. Subtle poetic devices are masterfully employed throughout this impressive piece. With the deliberate punning of the word ‘ right replacing the traditional ‘ rite”, it unsettles the reader from the beginning. It’s such a powerful and visceral poem, yet carefully constructed, replete with the pathos of the victim’s ” perpetual stain” permeating each mellifluous line. Such lyrical beauty beguiles the reader, notwithstanding the profound darkness of the poem. It is certainly a must read!

Rovey

A fantastic book, a great way to find new poets to love in the future. Was struck by the powerful and terse piece by Aria Ligi, a poem that strikes a poignant chord especially with the recent discourse surrounding sexual consent.

Emil Freihardt

Aria Ligi is in touch through language, merging emotion with the necessity of justice. Honor this work […]