The Labyrinth

About the Book

Labyrinth is a word of pre-Greek Minoan origin referring to a maze with a defined path but without the dead ends and false passageways of a maze. Believed to have been constructed in Crete at Knosses, the labyrinth in the myth was constructed by Daedalus at the command of King Minos to imprison the Minotaur, to whom ten young men were sacrificed each year.

In The Labyrinth, author Edward Sublett’s new collection of poems, Sublett uses verse to reflect the temporary moments in our lives when we are lost, wondering what fate awaits us—as he did when he nearly went blind due to detached retinas in both eyes.

In addition to evoking this time, the poems of this collection also recall the feeling of being by the sea and the other islands scattered south of mainland Greece, especially the islands that comprise Santorini, basking in the sun and the warmth of the Mediterranean Sea. Both themes come together to become The Labyrinth, a poetry collection with a constant theme of loss—of the temporary moments of our lives and of personal memories—and of the understanding that we are all lost at some point in the Labyrinth awaiting our own personal Minotaur.

The sea passes over him, rises, falls, declines;
the tide comes in, the full moon staring down,
cold Diana’s face reflected on the earth.
The moon is over an empty sea
and he dreams of another place
another voice and silence…
He drinks saltwater in order to do what must be done
and madness overwhelms him
for he can swim no longer in the gentle tide
or wind blown sea…
There is a star beyond the windowpane
he cannot touch, nor the sea with his eyes closed.

—from “Overwhelmed”

About the Author

Originally intending to teach literature, history, and write, Edward Sublett sidetracked into practicing law. He returned to school years later to study for a PhD in clinical psychology, and pursue a second career as a Jungian analyst, but circumstances dictated otherwise. Traveling extensively, he lives near the ocean, the space that inspires him most.