A Death in America, Or, the Life Expectancy of Your Nearest Living Relative Depends on How Fast You Fill Out This Form: Poems

Brisby knows the ghetto inside out and has an ambition to be its poet, but his verses are by and large innocuous. They may be statements, they may be complaints, they may even be stories, but they fall short of the metaphoric requirements of poetry. Brisby is primarily interesting for the breadth of his subjects: Edie Sedgwick, Nelson Rockefeller, Lena Horne, Karen Ann Quinlan, Joe Louis, Attica, Wounded Knee and, most of all, the life of Harlem. His sketchy thoughts may be of some sociological interest, but his poems are weak and cliche-ridden: ""born in/ spanish harlem/ growing wild/ with the world/ like nightflowers/ in central park./ seeking love/ with a switchblade/ in your right hip pocket.'' (February)