Spooky Action by John Mulrooney is reviewed by Michael Londra in The Arts Fuse – Boston’s Premier Online Arts Magazine.
Spooky Action, John Mulrooney’s latest book of poetry, contains his finest verse to date. And that makes this volume a considerable cause for celebration. The title refers to Albert Einstein’s infamous 1935 attempt to discredit quantum theory, concepts which contradicted his belief that the universe is nothing if not rational — “God doesn’t play dice.” For Einstein, quantum entanglement was “spooky action at a distance.” The idea pivoted on a paradoxical assertion: paired quanta, such as two electrons, could be inextricably linked together over millions of light years. Thus if something happens to change the spin rate of one, the other electron would instantly adjust — “spookily,” as if via telepathy. Today, science has established this as a verified fact. Perhaps — if Einstein had read more poetry? — he might have been more open to the primal playfulness of existence. In these pages, Mulrooney suggests that the universe works like a poem — counterintuitively, enigmatically, beautifully. Spooky Action beautifully. Spooky Action supplies abundant proof.
