Two new books

Two new books of interest are Henri Cole's Blackbird and Wolf (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007) and Bob Hicok's This Clumsy Living (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007). Both books are by established poets, each with several books to their credit (including Cole's last volume, the masterfully fascinating Middle Earth). Both books are deceptive, looking so clear, clean and simple. Cole's book includes mainly 14 line poems (hovering in the realm of the sonnet, says the dust jacket) and Hicox's poems are rarely more than one or two pages long. However, both books are difficult emotionally, each depending on a very intense self-involvement on the part of each poet. Although this can be repelling at times, especially in Hicox's case, the books are on the whole, compelling and very rewarding.