Niagara Digressions: An Indirect Memoir

In this ponderous collection of musings set against a western New York backdrop, Baxter flits from billboards, birds, and Buffalo to pencils and porcupines, connecting his subjects in often tenuous and tedious ways. In one section, Baxter, professor emeritus of English at Niagara County Community College, refers to French surrealist Tristan Tzara’s (1896–1963) “cut-up” technique of writing poetry and author Laurence Sterne’s (The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy) thinking on the free association of ideas to explain the structure of his memoir. Certain sections are rewarding—for instance, a leap from Baxter’s own attraction to animal bones to a lovely consideration of Georgia O’Keeffe’s art and death. Although the Niagara region figures prominently in Baxter’s stories, along with a great deal of hunting imagery, his concerns are existential, touching on self-awareness and human potential. (Apr.)