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by Barbara Helfgott-Hyett (Author), Eileen Cleary (Editor), Martha McCollough (Designed by)
The voice in these remarkable poems displays the assurance of a poet who has perfected her art. This authority carries throughout all three sections of the book: from the first section, scenes from childhood written with the authenticity of a child's point of view, that is without sentimentality or rationalization; through "Transparency," poems of almost prayerful wonder at the natural world; culminating in "Proof of the Spinning World" which synthesizes personal, natural, and political concerns. These poems forgo the ornamental to give us startling line after line, truth after truth. The poet risks all: "Who will love me now that I/have shown how brave I am?" the poet asks in "To Be a Sloth" and tells us in another poem that to be happy you must "Make life up/then force your eyes to see it." In this stunning collection, Helfgott Hyett teaches us to see the world without mercy but with love.
