Smoker, M.L. Another attempt at rescue.

SMOKER, M.L Another attempt at rescue. Hanging Loose. 64p. c2005. 1-931236-51-8. $14.00. SA

Very rarely am I inclined to read a poetry book from start to finish in one sitting, but M.L. Smoker's poems have such grace and insight that I picked up her book and couldn't put it down until I arrived at the final page. Frequently prose-like but artfully and carefully crafted, the poems in this debut book are heartfelt, without being sentimental, and always painfully honest. Like any skilled poet, Smoker has mastered the art of being direct without giving too much away; and throughout the book we watch as she comes to terms with the complications of her Native American heritage and more importantly, her own inner world.

She ponders the life and death of her mother from various angles, contemplates the limits of language, and reminisces about standing outside her family's house smoking cigarettes with cousins while "a pow wow tape plays from inside the open garage / where two old uncles are thinking to themselves / in the safety of its shadows." The voice behind each poem in this collection is strong, of the earth, and strangely certain in its uncertainty. As Smoker writes in a letter that serves as the closing piece in the book: "There's just something about the remissible wave of a cast which feels like the biggest commitment of all." Beth Lizardo, College Student, NY

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.