Straits & Narrows: Poems (Karen & Michael Braziller Books)
The cover of Wade’s sixth book of poetry carries a vibrant image of three resplendent dragonflies. A closer look reveals the least-lucky insect of the trio has shredded wing stubs and is clinging to a brown-spotted leaf. This double take is an apt representation of how a reader might navigate Straits & Narrows: at first perceiving quotidian subjects and easy form but then absorbing the deeper meaning that binds these poems. Wade focuses primarily on nature and allows its beauty and vulnerability to tease out metaphor. In Corrective she points out that nature’s / first / is / red. . . . Red / like / blood / runs / last / and / first. Wild Raspberry is fable-like, warning against greed as a huge / and dazzling / juicier morsel is lost / forever . . . beneath your / sorry feet. Wade’s images are sultry and her language is playful; perhaps her work as a translator is the source of her adeptness in working phrases and rhythm. --Katharine Fronk