From Library Journal
Wakoski's story, as she tells it in her continuing sequence of autobiographical poems, is one of highly productive maladjustment. In this successor to The Emerald City of Las Vegas (LJ 8/95) and Jason the Sailor (LJ 8/93), the poet is disobliged both by the painful particulars of her own history and the currents of contemporary culture. Men have betrayed her, in particular the ex-husband who is now "a red square on the/ Aids [sic] Quilt"; the younger set, with their blue nails and freedoms, baffle her. Social criticism of the sort that characterized works such as The Collected Greed (1984) is less apparent here; this installment of her idiosyncratic "archaeology" has more to do with colors, the art of Edward Hopper, the writing of D.H. Lawrence or Adrienne Rich, and disappointment in love. Wakoski has always been disdainful of craft, but occasionally her quirky method can produce something as remarkable as "Night Blooming Jasmine," a personal retelling of the Persephone myth set in Berkeley, CA. Wakoski remains an interesting poet to watch, and her followers should be pleased with this volume. For larger collections.?Graham Christian, Andover-Harvard Theological Lib., Cambridge, MA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
The Argonaut Rose: Amaryllis Belladonna
The Asian Gay Disco In La
The Barn
Beauty
Clove Shoes
David & Geoffrey
Desert Eyes
El Camino Real (the King's Highway)
The Escorts
Falling Woman Leaving The Garden
Fish Story
The Flaming Track
Gardenias
Halloween Costumes
He Says
Helmets Of Bronze
Imagining Point Dume
Laguna Beach, Rich Man's Town
Listening To D. H. Lawrence's Pansies
The Missing Sandal
Morning Glories
Morning Shade
My Friend
Night Blooming Jasmine: The Myth Of Rebirth In Berkeley
The Orient Express
Orpheus And Roses: A Woman's Myth
Pansies
Ray And The White Camaro: A Meditation On The Silver Screen
Reading Bonjour, Tristesse At The Florence Crittenden Home
Reading The Pharmacist's Daughter's Letters
Red Bandanna
The Red Silk Cloth And The Pike Street Market
Riding In The New Truck
Roses And Shame
Sharpe's Mouth
Sitting At Hopper's Marbletop Table
Skate Board
Sketching Roses
Small Blood Stain Found After Making Love
Snow Crash
Waiting For The Morning Glories
Wanting Bees
White As Sunday School Socks
Yellow Brick Road
Yellow Tulips & The Question Of Beauty
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®
The Asian Gay Disco In La
The Barn
Beauty
Clove Shoes
David & Geoffrey
Desert Eyes
El Camino Real (the King's Highway)
The Escorts
Falling Woman Leaving The Garden
Fish Story
The Flaming Track
Gardenias
Halloween Costumes
He Says
Helmets Of Bronze
Imagining Point Dume
Laguna Beach, Rich Man's Town
Listening To D. H. Lawrence's Pansies
The Missing Sandal
Morning Glories
Morning Shade
My Friend
Night Blooming Jasmine: The Myth Of Rebirth In Berkeley
The Orient Express
Orpheus And Roses: A Woman's Myth
Pansies
Ray And The White Camaro: A Meditation On The Silver Screen
Reading Bonjour, Tristesse At The Florence Crittenden Home
Reading The Pharmacist's Daughter's Letters
Red Bandanna
The Red Silk Cloth And The Pike Street Market
Riding In The New Truck
Roses And Shame
Sharpe's Mouth
Sitting At Hopper's Marbletop Table
Skate Board
Sketching Roses
Small Blood Stain Found After Making Love
Snow Crash
Waiting For The Morning Glories
Wanting Bees
White As Sunday School Socks
Yellow Brick Road
Yellow Tulips & The Question Of Beauty
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®
