the only place I said what I meant
was in poems
—from “The No More Apologizing, the No More Little Laughing Blues”
Lyn Lifshin is a poet who speaks with directness—immediate and accessible, seemingly artlessly, yet conveying complex truths. This collection is like an unforgettable late night, sitting on a porch in the sweet night air and listening to stories told by a very close friend.
These direct, spare, autobiographical poems evoke memories of an unlovely girlhood…a stormy marriage…the pain of losing a mother…the struggle to regain self-sufficiency after bad relationships. As always, Lifshin trawls deep waters of submerged passion beneath the surface of everyday life, coming up with a teeming, glistening catch.
—Tom Clark