The last Time I Saw Amelia Earhart: Poems
A potent new poetic talent enters the writing scene with this tour de force debut collection. With economy of words and interweaving of voices, themes, settings, and lyrical cycles, Calvocoressi presents a slim collection that packs a punch. From the title poem, which swells with a tide, onward, characters react to aviator Amelia Earhart's disappearance and to the raw, addictive, and corrupting draw of an adult drive-in as Calvocoressi fearlessly wanders into imaginative, as well as realistic, space, speaking truth, assessing damage, and giving expression to those who are left behind. She offers both split-second, cinematic moments and images that leave lingering impressions. There is something distinctly American not only in the rural towns she depicts and the voices she "channels" but also in a brutally honest yet compassionately tender revelation of hidden truths. Calvocoressi has moved beyond the popular poetry of "self" in an effort to understand other perspectives in this original and riveting collection.Janet St. JohnCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved