Customer Reviews

Lapsing to Grace: Poems and Drawings

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
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For poetry lovers, the work of Rhina Espillat is a priceless gem just waiting to be discovered. Her use of form, her graceful passion for articulating real and heart-felt emotions is the delight every poetry lover hopes to experience from a book. Her latest book, Where Horizons Go, is equally rewarding. I strongly recommend the work of this outstanding poet to anyone who values the high principles in the gift of poetry.

Meter and rhyme have never left the poetry world--that is, the world of real poets--and Rhina Espaillat's work is real poetry. Subtle sentences work their way gracefully over the wickets of meter. Metaphors stun with their accuracy and ingenuity. And a humane and wise voice speaks all the time, without a trace of arrogance or pretention. There is not a poetic form Ms. Espaillat attempts that she does not do honor to. How much more could one ask in our current, degraded culture of screaming and fatuousness? The only negative thing I could think to say about "Lapsing to Grace" is that as genuinely good as the book is, "Where Horizons Go," her second book, is even better.

While not as good as her second or third book (she really grew as a poet), Rhina Espaillat's first book is a great debut. She has mastered meter and rhyme and does it so seemlessly and beautifully you don't even notice it happening. You also find a few poems in her native Spanish (untranslated). And some simple drawings, also by the poet. Espaillat is one of my favorite poets and this is a worthy collection by her.