SAVING LIVES: POEMS

Albert Goldbarth "just may be the American poet of his generation for the ages," says Judith Kitchen in a recent feature on him in the Georgia Review. "Often humorous but always serious, Goldbarth combines erudite research, pop-culture fanaticism, and personal anecdote in ways that make his writings among the most stylisti­cally recognizable in the literary world." This new volume, Saving Lives, both consolidates and extends his passions and their presentations. The poems range from a few tight, resonant lines to works of long story­telling drive, from sequences that encompass the most flexible of free verse to an homage to the sestina. Some center on familiar cultural icons (Rembrandt, Houdini, Barnum, the Hardy Boys), others on little-known fringe players in subculture's oddest unlit corners, and yet others on family histories. But always they examine an essential subject: the ways we try to "save lives"-whether through a trans­planted lung, the archeological rem­nant, the conserved book. As ever, Goldbarth dazzles, displaying an energetic mind eager to share his arcane learning, oddball musings, and observations of intimate moments, joys, and despairs. A zany wit and a generous sense of humanity reign equally. Saving Lives only enhances this writer's grand signature tradition.