From Library Journal
Here is a journal of a journey to Venice, enthusiastically conveyed by a sensitive young writer who blends a contemporary American idiom with a plethora of evocative Italian names that conjure up Venetian history, art, and literature. The author races from one impression to another, enjoying the sights, the bars, the encounters but only occasionally pausing for any profound considerations. Consequently, achieved poetry exists only in a few poems, as when green ducks "are caught/ in midair/ by my wonderment,/ and remain bright/ as dandelions," or "flowers lose their aromatic ability/ to whisper names." As for style, the "free-wheeling abandon" that other critics have noted applies here. This is a work to read once with nostalgia and enjoyment, but once only. Daisy Aldan, Steiner Inst., Thomas Coll., Me.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
long narrative poem, a black American in Venice
