cover image Venus and Don Juan

Venus and Don Juan

Carol Frost. Triquarterly Books, $14 (61pp) ISBN 978-0-8101-5063-8

The strident, questioning voice, the hefty lines and the clean language that marked Pure, Frost's previous book, also characterize the poems gathered in this collection. Frost focuses on the forces that shape and move the human animal, as reflected in titles like ""Obsession,"" ""Craving,"" ""Hypocrisy,"" ""Bliss,"" ""Ecstasy"" and ""Adultery."" Here, there is a sense of personal connection, especially in the latter of this volume's seven sections, that was absent from Frost's earlier work. The collection's opener, ""Comparison Of,"" serves as a frontispiece as the poet, discovering the crumbling gravestone of a woman named Mary Hyatt and choosing to imagine Hyatt's broken heart, determines that ""the absent/ lover is everywhere."" The line strikes a thematic focus for the work that culminates in the last and title poem. Her Venus and Don Juan, ""with their own hearts in turmoil,"" suffer together the loss of love. Elsewhere, Frost is more resigned to love's loss: ""Carry me to hell/ deep into the kingdom of Dis where my love lies,"" instructs the poet in ""Farewell to Two Muses."" Frost's work is dense, requiring-and rewarding-the reader's deep attention. (Nov.)