Poetry Books

Diane Lockward's EVE's RED DRESS cleverly takes the many lives of Eve and brings her into a contemporary present of messy complications and unexpected delights. While "Eve Argues Against Perfection" and enjoys her "Vegetable Love" as it "turned to mush" and "grew mold and began to stink" we are initiated into "Eve's Own Garden" in which the secret (among many) is that this garden is as much a feast of dirt ("I have feasted/on dirt. A garden grows inside me...) as it is the "sweetbriers/so wild and profuse they bleed/over the fence, blood-red, scarlet, crimson./" that this garden dirt has seeded. There is an exuberance in the color and taste of words throughout this collection that renders even the unsettling moments, such as Eve being left by a lover who "goes back/to his wife", with portions of savvy (and saucy) poetry that generously satiates the reader. Even if Eve is in the midst of packing up her lingerie and pointing "the car west on Route 66 toward Paradise,//Nevada" she is enjoying her trip. Driving in the desert where she doesn't know where she is and beginning to panic, she lands us at "Tables for ladies/" where "a babe in a red satin dress/ and a biker chick in black leather" are part of the clientele, where she reminds us, with the waitress at the Diner, that "Honey, you're on your way to paradise,/home of the serpent." And indeed that home, and that serpent, prove a lot more intriguing and satisfying than anything we learned in Bible class. Here, we're offered "a cup/of coffee and a piece of apple pie?" Here "The Flavor of Sadness" is the strawberry that's "so darn delicious" someone "decided to preserve it". Here we learn new "Feeding Habits" and how to "savor the succulent flesh".

These poems offer us glimpses into the twin worlds of myth and reality. Here we are always in the process of discovering. Here "truths" can be beautiful and dangerous. Consider some of these poems: "Eve's Confession," "The Blues Going and Coming," "The Mystery of the Missing Girl, and "The Properties of Light." If you have been looking for a talented, surprising and compassionate poetic voice, buy this book.

I recently discovered this poet in the new Poetry Daily anthology. I bought her book and immediately became a card-carrying member of her fan club. The poems are terrific--full of energy, humor, and feeling. Then the poet came to my town to do a reading. I was captivated by her reading style. And she read some of my favorites--"The Missing Wife" (funny and poignant), "Losing the Blues" (so musical it makes you want to get up and sway), "Pastiche for a Daughter's Absence" (beautiful love poem for a daughter), and "My Husband Discovers Poetry" (an amazing revenge poem). I hope to run into this poet again. Eve's Red Dress is an outstanding collection.

I bought this book right after I heard Garrison Keillor read "My Husband Discovers Poetry" on The Writer's Almanac. I immediately loved that poem which turned out to be the last one in the collection. All too often when I buy a book on the basis of one poem I end up being disappointed. But not this time. The entire collection lives up to the promise of that poem. Again and again, Lockward made me laugh and cry, often at the same time. Her poems of love and desire are among the best I've read. But her subjects also include dancing, eating, gardening, clothing, and more. Lockward takes us through a wide range of moods. She is not afraid to face darkness, but she also knows how to have a good time. She displays an impressive verbal dexterity and creates stunning imagery. She clearly knows and practices her craft. In the end, I found this collection a complete pleasure.

If you can get only one poetry book this year, make this the one. If you're looking for poetry that's original, inventive, well-crafted, and multi-layered, this is it. Lockward has sass, courage, and wit. Her Eve has many faces; she is Everywoman, yet totally unique. And don't make the mistake of thinking the collection will be burdened by religious allusions; there's more blasphemy than doctrine here. This is a collection about a modern woman's world, but it is definitely not for women only; men are welcomed into this world and are much in demand. This is a collection for anyone who enjoys intelligent and passionate poetry that surprises with each rereading.

Though i am now growing older I can still remember the books that captivated me as a child. Now that my children have begun to discover reading I found that Grasshopper Pie is an excellent addition to their book collection and a creative way to nurture and develop their reading skills. The illustrations are also great and help my kids learn and comprehend. I hope both the author and illustrator of this book continue to publish books so that my children and I can enjoy themin the future.
Sincerely,
Boe Guse (new york)

"Grasshopper Pie" is a very good children's book and I highly recommend it. My six-year-old daughter was able to practice her reading skills with it and enjoyed the illustrations very much. My daughter and I are eagerly awaiting the next book Mr. Steinberg and Mr. Sinnott do together.

This book is a wonderful collection of poems for children. I love the illustrations by Adrian Sinnott because they match the writing perfectly. They are silly, fun, and creative. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Shel Silverstien.

The poetry in Grasshopper Pie is wonderful for youngsters just learning how to read. The vivid illustrations drawn by Adrian Sinnott make the whole learning-to-read experience a much more enjoyable and fun one. It was so clever to have a grasshopper hidden on every page!! I am first grade teacher in Boston, and the kids in my class loved reading the book and looking at the pictures. Sinnott really inspired them to get into art and draw on their own.

Grasshopper Pie and Other Poems is a collection of whimsical stories by David Steinberg. Brought to life by cartoonist Adrian Sinnott, the tales and illustrations will captivate children and parents alike. My two daughters loved the Grasshopper chronicles-- from the title story to a tale about an upside-down boy and an "Alien in My Soup." My oldest daughter, age 7, found the cover illustration fun to study, with grasshoppers playfully swimming in the kitchen sink, lounging in the silverware drawer, munching on a blueberry pie, etc. Anyone who has children knows that children love looking at the details of any given drawing and spotting the various activities depicted by the artist (there's a "Where's Waldo?" quality to the cover). As my oldest daughter said, "The drawings are cool and the stories are funny." Thankfully, Grasshopper Pie does not have any politically correct adult moralizing, and instead emphasizes children's imaginations. I recommend Grasshopper Pie for children ages 5 to 8, and for adults who wish to revisit the way they once thought when they were young.

A remarkable tale of Hasidic (Ultra-Orthodox) Jews and the miracles that happened to so many in spite of the ravages of the Holocaust.

A mix of prose and poetry, tears and turbulence, you'll want to read it from cover to cover.

One of the great pieces of literature related to one of the worst times in modern history.

Michael

As far as I know, this book was the first collection of Hasidic responses to the Holocaust to make it out of the "Jewish literary ghetto" and into the mainstream, where it remains a popular read in both Jewish and non-Jewish theological circles. It was also the first collection of stories about Jews who did NOT lose their faith during the Holocaust (most of them, anyway -- there are one or two exceptions in the book.) Prior to this, religious Jews in the Holocaust were portrayed by the media as as "cowards who didn't fight back" rather than the religious martyrs that they were. (Most typical of this anti-religious period is the infamous line from the movie version of Leon Uris's EXODUS: "The only god I believe in is a gun.") I won't go into the politics of it here, but, suffice it to say, the post-Holocaust Zionist movement was more interested in freedom fighters than saints.

The Hasidim, however, had a different view of their suffering during the Holocaust. God had not deserted them, even if He seemed hidden in a time of darkness. The Hasidim were telling their own Holocaust stories around the Sabbath table or at community gatherings but, because most of this telling was oral and in Yiddish, it was unknown to the general public. Enter Yaffa Eliach. As a professor of English literature at Brooklyn College, she began hearing these tales from her students. Brooklyn College had/has a high percentage of Hasidic students and, through them, Eliach got to know their parents and other Holocaust survivors, including some of the Hasidic Rebbes. The result is a fine collection of true Holocaust stories that will forever change the way you view Hasidic Jews. Courage, as this book demonstrates, doesn't always mean grabbing a gun. It can also mean hiding a child, sharing your food when you yourself are starving, or meeting death with your human dignity intact. To maintain one's faith under such adversity, to continue studying Torah and doing the mitzvahs even in a concentration camp -- these were acts of true resistance that shine through every page of this book. I give it ten stars!

This inspiring book is one of the best books writeen on the Holocaust. I read the book every year on Tisha B'av, the Jewish day of national mourning and never cease to be amazed, inspired and touched by the myriad of stories in this wonderful book. This copy is being given as a token of appreciation o someone I wish to thank.

i must say that I am surprised that no reviews I have come across so far adress what appears to me this books most remarkable feature: Its power of inspiring faith. In fact, I would site this book as one of the most concrete proofs of the existence of God in print. Stories of the divine powers that are granted to the compassionate, the devout, and the faithful surpass all description. Please read this book, I treasure it like a scripture, and the courage, profound faith, and integrity of its characters burns in the heart like fire. i have never wept like I wept when I read these simple stories for the first time, and I continue to draw bittersweet emotional sustainance everytime I read and re-read its pages. There is too many brilliant anecdotes to choose examples, But as I write I remeber the story of the boy whose friend apparently died in a forced labour factory. The young man was piled in the frigid cold of night in a pile of corpses after a terrible illness had left no sign of life in him. The grandfather of the boy kept appearing in his friends dream to tell him the his friend must be "woken up". After the third dream, the youth was more frightened of the dream than of risking his life to escape to where the dead were piled to investigate. The youth found his friend amid the corpses, and when he repeated the granfather's invocation to "wake up", he indeed stirred! The story concludes with the boy warming his friend, bringing him to safety, and survival. It is marvelous and breathtaking to discover that these miraculous and spellbinding stories occurred in the darkest heart of humankind's darkest hours, and that they have been compiled in this manner is a fitting tribute to is subjects.

Yaffa Eliach is to be commended for collecting and publishing these tales. They tell stories of Jews who despite horrible trials and sufferings kept their faith in God, and their decency as human beings. The paradox is often that only when human beings are subject to the worse trials do they reveal their greatness. These stories are stories of inspiration not only for Jews but for all of mankind.

Ice Cream Melts takes you on a journey through the minds of various individuals. Nnamdi became these people, pouring out their souls and the turmoil in their lives. Although all different, everyone has a voice, even the pleading baby. Nnamdi's writing speaks volumes. I scream, you scream, we all scream...

EXPRESSING IT ALL!!!!!!

BY: JESSICA DESIR

THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ, I HAVE READ A LOT OF BOOKS IN MY TIME BUT THIS ONE WAS GREAT..., I WOULD SAY. IT HAS EVEYTHING A BOOK SHOULD HAVE. TO THE AUTHOR BEST WISHES GREAT WORK.

Nnamdi's writing evokes raw emotion from the reader, and leaves you no choice but to feel the pain, fear, sorrow, loneliness, that he has masterfully translated into words. You're drawn in, and that is what real poetry is all about. I wouldn't expect anything less from one of Brooklyn's finest!

Osuagwu's dancinig literary prose doesn't miss a beat. With each new poem you embark on a short yet deep journey into a reality so real and honest you can relate no matter what walk of life you stride.

Ice Cream Melts is a fabulous complilation of the mundane embued with a novel voice that carries you curiously into the subject of mother, father, daughter, son, lover, professional, prisoner. But so naturally does the author carry each voice that you are intimately carried through gracefully rolling words portraying for you a visual with which you can clearly identify. It is inevitable that with most of the prose here you will find yourself neatly settled into a "hmmm" that is to say "mmmm" in accord or at least in acceptance for you may have been there at one point too.

Truly enjoyable and recommended read!

While reading the poetry of "Ice Cream Melts", presented as short narratives in different voices by Mr. Osuagwu, I felt I was sharing in an intimate adventure with the author. Told from the point of view of a Mother, Father, Daughter, Son, Lover, and others, he relates the experiences of growing up, growing old, falling in love, separation, and abandonment. His honesty is disarming, yet very sweet, as he expresses the joys, the fears, the anger, and the warmth of this family cast.

What is perhaps most striking is that while I felt that I was reading a very personal story, I also felt a much broader reach in the poems. Mr. Osuagwu has managed to include us in his world with his portrayals: these could be the voices of your son, my mother, our friends. Quite an achievement. I enjoyed "Ice Cream Melts" immensely. Very highly recommended.

Why haven't you bought this lovely inspirational poetic journal. You know who you are. This book should be read by you and everyone else who love the Lord and need to hear the Lord's words. Amen.

I LOVE THE ORGINALITY OF THIS BOOK. YOU CAN READ IT ANYTIME OF THE DAY OR NIGHT. WHEN YOUR DOWN OR NOT FEELING WELL, IT WILL CHEER YOU UP. IT'S A NICE BOOK TO READ WHEN YOUR IN A GOOD MOOD. I ALSO LIKE THE WAY THE WRITER HAS A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. I'VE NOT READ A BOOK IN A LONG TIME AND I'M GLAD I BROKE THAT STREAK WITH THIS ONE.

There is something special about the way Ms Liles has been blessed in her writings. Her intense and open communion with God comes through as pure gold, unabashed and shining forth to offer quiet solace to the world's busy and upsetting pace. She writes in a simple,fluid, poetic manner that captivates you and draws you into a relationship with the Master. I have enjoyed reading this poetry and have been inspired.

I thank you and you very much for taking the time to read my first book. Inspired by the Light will show you how to smile even when you don't think you need one. It turns your "I thought, I can't", into "I can do all things through Christ." These inspirational poems will show you how I trust God to do everything in my life. Be Inspired Today! Please order my book from Amazon.com today!! "Comeon" Inspired by the Light will guarantee you a big smile, and you will feel good because you order my smile today. I thank you from my heart to your heart for reading Inspired by the Light.

I am the printer Hanna Liles chose for her new book, "Inspired by the Light." During the time we were negotiating the printing contract, my step-father passed away and Hanna presented me with a poem from her book titled, "Going Home to be with my Heavenly Father." This poem put my feelings in order and I can't thank Hannah enough for helping me through this difficult time.

Claudia Emerson, Late Wife (Louisiana State University Press, 2005)

I've had very little patience with review-writing for the past six weeks or so, and thus I let this review go unconscionably long (I finished the book on April 30th and am writing this on June 10th). Thus, I've forgotten most of the phrases I was turning over in my mind. I do know, however, they all involved heaping a great deal of praise on Late Wife, Claudia Emerson's most recent book and the winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. I often find myself wondering what the judges were thinking giving the prize to book X instead of book Y; not in this case. The details may be a little fuzzy in my head this far after the fact, but the book itself is pure gold, that much I remember. Emerson has a wonderful eye for detail and that all-too-rare quality in a poet of not letting the story get in the way of the description:

"I'd run that course/so many times I imagined myself/a goat encircling an invisible stake//of the baseball diamond's off-season/desolation, scoreboard blank before/the lightening sky." ("The Practice Cage")

That, right there, is some language, folks. This is a book you want to read. Likely to be on my ten best reads of the year list. **** ½

I read about this collection by Claudia Emerson on a list of recent Pulitzer winners, and its marital themes appealed to me, so I gave it a try. These poems seem deceptively simple upon first reading, but as I've reread and lingered over them, they have grown deep roots. There is indeed a lot going on under the surface here.

The first two sections of this slim volume offer restrained yet poignant snapshots of a marriage viewed in retrospect--domestic moments that serve as subtle metaphors for a failing relationship. For instance, Emerson describes various homes that she and her husband occupied--houses that appear sound on the surface, but that include occupants like spiders, bees, bats, and termites, suggesting a marriage that is internally unsound. "Natural History Exhibits," for example, describes the newlywed poet opening up her silverware drawer to find a coiled snake. Rather than killing it, she hesitates and eases the drawer shut, letting the snake exit the way it came, but washing "every fork, spoon, and knife" afterwards. Her misgivings and her attempt to overlook the event mirror her handling of her early marital regrets. Another recurring image involves trapped birds--an orphaned cedar waxwing, a hawk caught in a batter's cage, and, in "A Bird in the House," the poet herself as a bird... the displaced "late wife" that her ex-husband's new wife chases out.

In the collection's final section, Emerson opens a window on her current relationship--one haunted by the ghost of her beloved's deceased "late wife," yet ultimately hopeful. In "Leave No Trace," a conscientious hiking trip becomes a meaningful metaphor for the subtle footprints we can't help but leave in each others' lives, yet Emerson's eyes are fixed confidently on her companion "on the trail just ahead."

This lovely, empathic collection is well worth a careful reading.

This author knows how to capture the nuances of life that most of us can relate to. I found that I could not put this book down. I will be re-reading this approachable "story" many times.

Claudia Emerson's precise use of words to convey images and to stimulate reflection is an artform. The simplicity of the poems and their ease in reading them mask the depth that is in each. This is key to a poet's success. The ability to appeal to all audiences by conveying a clear picture, yet not giving away too much, allows for the preservation of the reader's ability to use their own imagination. Imagination is the precursor for reflection. When room is made for reflection, each poem takes on a life of their own and the experience becomes unique for each reader and a connection is made. Connection is what poetry is all about. Not only did I make strong connections with these poems, but I truly enjoyed them just for the pure pleasure of reading them. The descriptions and images were so beautifully conjured through the artistic use of words that like admiring a great painting, they encourage you to be artistic as well.

I was a student of Claudia Emerson's at Mary Washignton College, and find her ability to honest and genuine in the classroom translates in her work. I remember her discussing "Late Wife" just as her previous collection "Pinion" was released. It is exciting to see the conversations she had among her students, now present in the art. My favorite poem is her metaphoric look at the batting cage and the hawk escpaing. Perhaps, because I have run around the fields myself, or maybe, because I relate to the universality of feeling like exhibition, and desiring to be the hawk with its talons and break free. She is a wonderful poet, and I look forward to reading every word she writes.

"The belly an albino bowl," "Blinding the blind rind of his eye." Need I say more? These are images struck on a golden anvil. Ms. Davis sure can write. But more important than her imagery is her ability to turn the personal into the universal: the sign of a true poet. And no subjects are more personal than those touched here by her pen--its nib dipped in honey and blood.

Another daughter is pregnant and so I turn again to pull from the shelf and read "Leopold's Maneurvers". Davis writes as a nurse and a woman, pealing away and exposing the folds of our own divided lives as she does the bodies and lives of those she cares for. Davis examines and explores the flesh and the word with such care, love and reverence that we are humbled as well as grateful for her voice as she lights our way forward into birth, life and death.

Cortney is one of a few modern poets I read. I find her work honest and revealing in a way that makes me feel, "Yes, that's it." She is wise and wonderful and explores our boundaries of what it is to be both a nurse and ultimately a human being. Her nursing experience lends that careful, unflinching touch to her observations as a fellow explorer of what it means to be human. If you start with this book, don't miss her others.

"Leopold's Maneuvers" is a book of grace, delicacy, and unflinching toughness. The title of the book is the name of a manual examination used to determine the way an unborn baby is lying in the womb. Or, as the poet says, "the direction this child will take emerging into light." The poet is a nurse practitioner. She brings to the poems her ability to look at things as they are, to name them, and not let go until there is resolution. She writers about her childhood, her mother's childhood, the death of her parents, her children, her marriage, eroticism, sexuality, her medical practice, the flesh, the soul, the world's sorrows, and the courage and danger all of us are familiar with, especially women. Always the body is central, its processes, its mysteries, its knowledge. Her work moves in a natural flow, from the most personal to the most universal. And without denying what the struggle is, it is healing. In her poem, "Everything in Life is DIvided," she writes: "My life's work too is divided--/on one side of my desk unfinished poems;/on the other nursing books with dog-eared pages." But not the impact of the book, which, leaving nothing unattended, restores and reconciles. We are constantly brought into connection of a very sustaining kind. This book is a winner!

Cortney Davis' latest collection of poetry is a fearless and breathtaking account of a woman's life as a daughter, wife, and nurse. There is tremendous emotional intensity in these accessible poems, delivered with the honesty and compassion of a nurse who knows how to perform Leopold's maneuver, and as a companion to people during their most painful transformations. The stunning poem "Nunca tu Alma" continues to haunt me, even after many readings. As a poet and physician, I find Davis' poems to be among the most compelling in the literature-medicine canon.

Ghalib lived in very turbulent times. The Mughal empire in India was on its last legs and the British empire had tightened its clutches over India. Ghalib even lived through the horrendous 1857 "Sepoy Mutiny" of the "First War of Independence" (depends on whose view you believe in) and saw decimation of Delhi, a city he loved. The anguish of his poems is extremely hard to convey in a sterile language such as English. In any case, Robert Bly and Sunil Dutta's translations are over and above what else is available in the market. Excellent job.

Ghalib's playful poetry in Urdu is fascinating, such as the line in the caption of this review, a fact most Indians are privy to. But having his quirky, self-effacing romantic gems in English is a delight of a different order altogether. The translation is thankfully quite interesting in and of itself which lends this book an amusing, page-turning quality.

Couple of notes:

(1) Get the Ecco Press version if you can find it, the paper quality is less annoying. The Amazon site (this page) advertises a publication from "Rupa Co." which has crummy pages that I regret buying.

(2) Also, the Ecco Press version of the book contains interesting translation notes from Sunil Dutta, which are fun to read. Robert Bly is listed as the editor, and while he hogs the credit, he simply performed the role of revising and redecorating Dutta's copious translation notes.

Either way, I highly recommend this thin volume for people who appreciate poetry in general or "shayari" in particular. I'd gladly pay for more than 30 samples of Ghalib's prolific work.

Although Ghalib is not as well known as the famous Sufi poet Rumi and great Persian poet Hafez, in my view he is even better in some ways. His Urdu poems are sometimes very complex and he was a master at exploiting subtleties of Urdu - a language in which one can write couplets that can be interpreted in several different ways. Furthermore, Ghalib could exploit the Urdu by using ambiguities - one doesn't know whether he is longing for God or his lover in his couplets. Several people have attempted to translate Ghalib and I think it will be next to impossible to get the same color and taste once an Urdu couplet gets changed to English - In my opinion English doesn't have the poetic capacity to absorb the richness of Urdu. Despite these limitations, Bly and Dutta have done a great job. I understand both Urdu and English and therefore I can say with confidence that this book contains the best translations of Ghalib's poems.

The paperback version of this book contains the Ghazals in English, Devnagari, and Urdu script. Go for the paperback and see how the original poems look in Urdu. For those of us who can read Urdu, it is a delight to read the original verses and match them with the English translation.

Ghazals are Urdu poems that have at least five couplets. Interestingly, the couplets within a Ghazal generally are not related to each other and stand on their own. Ghalib is probably the most loved Urdu poet. He was a master of Urdu poetry and his considerable linguistic skills in Urdu and Persian allowed him to create subtle and extremely complex metaphysical, existential, romantic, sad, and biting poems. One reason why Ghalib is not as well known as Rumi (though, a better poem, in my opinion) is the fact that his poetry never received good treatment from other translators. In fact, when I read some of the translations of Ghalib's poem, I sometimes laugh at the idiotic interpretations and mediocre quality. Even when an Urdu scholar translates Ghalib's poem, the problem is that this scholar is often mediocre poet and poor in English penmanship. The results are horrendous (read the translations by Ghalib Academy, New Delhi and see what I mean).

This work by Bly and Dutta is simply marvellous. I think the credit probably goes to Bly as he is not only a great poet, he also has deep experience in translating poetry. I doubt anyone else could have done a better job than this. Well done and thanks.

"M" the missing letter poems is the latest in the collection of works since Christian Benedetto's "War Cries" -cri_es. Setting the tone with an opening quote from Hemingway, what proceeds is a stark, brutal and unrelenting force; where liberation is embedded within a four second free fall -suspended serenity; that which is a lifetime. [from "Aeolian harp"]

Like "War Cries", "M" moves within the collective conscience of those who have experienced war firsthand. Benedetto's grave scenarios -illustrated through close-ups, silhouettes, isolation and voyeurism - create a topsy-turvy world that seems to echo a not so distant past -present? At times my stomach turned with flashbacks of the graphic footage by embedded reporters from the early developments of the "Campaign". The cover artwork by Arielle Sandler is a perfect accompaniment to this turbulent force.

As "M" advances one becomes aware that each poem's dedicatee is a number -a body count? -Comrade? Foe? "Rescue" -for Lucy, threw me a bit as I was expecting the subject of this rescue to be -if at least only metaphorically - about a woman or in memory of, when in fact it was a gendered weapon. I immediately wondered how the readings from Benedetto's "Beauty & The Beast" might change if they were read with a similar perspective -inanimate objects assuming a role of mutual sympathy, a phantom partner projected into reality under excruciating circumstances.

"M" the missing letter poems is an experience of very real and raw emotions. As B. Levy wrote "...the only thing left to do is say a silent prayer - for the author, for the fallen..." Having served honorably in the United States Marine Corps, the 24th MEU SOC (Marine Expeditionary Unit-Special Operations Capable); Benedetto is a decorated combat veteran and life member of Disabled American Veterans.

On first blush,the reader concludes that the poems carry us through a heart of darkness.The sixteen poems certainly contain more murder and mayhem than old time Sunday Thrillers or several levels of X-Box.
What's the appeal?What's the Hook?It's the spirituality.Not in a go to meeting fashion,but more in a meet your maker dialogue.
The works cover a canvas of emotions:"Rescue" is romantic and chivalrous
"Ziveli"salutes his fallen foe
"Lee Harvey"conveys thoughts of both the hunter and the hunted
"Aeolian Harp"brings to mind a similarly titled work by Thoreau
"Light Weight",a particularly timelypiece,speaks of redemption through self improvment
"Looking Glass"reflects on the ephemeral nature of our fate
"Fail Trade"addresses justice ,coming back to haunt the prosecution
"Uncivil Servant"finds the individual self,through rebellion against the state
These works take us through war,love andviolence.It's not always pretty and not often easy, but it is about the discovery of the spiritual in the 21st century.

"M the missing letter poems" by Christian Benedetto presents with poignance and raw power the reflections and remembrances of combat. Moving way beyond personal battlefield reflections, each verse reaches deep down into the spirit of the author. A decorated Vietnam veteran, Benedetto effectively and colorfully presents allies and enemies, each with a sense of camaraderie or menance -- or sometimes both. I liked this collection of short poems a lot, especially because the author was so effective in cultivating conflicting feelings through his own images of conflict.

This is another heartfelt book of poetry from Christian Benedetto. For those of us who have never experienced war first hand, Mr. Benedetto takes us on a harrowing journey on to the modern day battlefield and into the mind of a solidier who has been there. These are unforgettable statements about the human experience.

The book was fantastic! It is not often that a combat soldier takes the time to put his thoughts into extremely raw, yet justified, poetry.

This is the Mother Goose of my children's generation. It was always a favorite. The illustrations are humorous and not too frightening (as in "A Real Mother Goose." This book is beloved by all three of my children, and was often their bedtime story pick well into elementary school. I would recommend this book to any parent looking for a comprehensive Mother Goose.

This book is in excellent condition and is exactly as I remember it as a child. It has brought fond memories back and I am sure my god children will enjoy it as much as myself and my brothers did growing up.

As a small child, I read Gyo Fujikawa's Mother Goose with my mom almost every night. As much as I loved the rhymes, I loved Ms. Fujikawa's drawings even more. Her little line drawings created a little world for each rhyme, and her full color illustrations--stretching across both pages--were gorgeous and mesmerizing. How wonderful that it is back in print so that my 2-yr old son can enjoy this book, too. (My own 40-yr old copy is lost somewhere in my mom's garage.) He loves it and clamors for "Goose! Goose!"

They don't make them like this anymore. A beautifully illustrated book. I had "Oh, What a Busy Day" as a child and we looked at the pictures over and over again- never got tired of it. Hoping my child will think the same of this one.

This is more than a kids's book to me: it is a treasured family heirloom.

The Volland Edition of Mother Goose Nursery rhymes is a well-worn book that sits on our lowest shelf for our kids to access freely. This has resulted in a bit of fraying on the edges of the pages and a binding that has started falling apart. But I have no regrets that my kids have returned to this book often and with anticipation when I announce that it is story time.

In this Mother Goose collection, you will find all the favorite rhymes in their original form; beautiful, sentimental, at times seemingly savage to our 21st century sensibilities - they were all written without regard to political correctness. For instance, the little old woman who lived in a shoe actually whipped all her children soundly before sending them to bed (not "kissed"), and Jack and Jill really do "break their crowns" instead of their hats or just bumping their heads. A few other selections mention the deaths of children and animals. Parents will have to prepare to explain some serious things to children after reading some of these rhymes.

The language back then was apparently more sophisticated than modern versions: consider "The Cat and the Fiddle" in which the little dog laughed to see such craft, which rhymes rather better than the later versions' (dumbed down) sport or play. In my opinion, that only adds to their color and charm. Hey, you can use it as an educational opportunity to teach new word usages to your kids.

But the real reason to choose this rhyme book is that the Volland Edition of Mother Goose is illustrated with an eye to beauty that you simply won't find in modern nursery rhyme books. That is what really sets the Volland Edition apart from all the modern collections; magical, perfect watercolors for each rhyme. No picture book since the Volland Edition has matched the quality here and I do believe that children enjoy good artwork and benefit from it greatly. In my case, this very book was inspirational in setting a high standard for my aspirations to become an artist someday.

As a great way to teach children poems and rhymes that will stay with them their whole lives, or as a valued heritage from another century, the Volland Mother Goose is one book every family should experience IMHO.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle