New and Selected Poems of Thomas Lux: 1975 - 1995

With new work offered in the first of its five sections, this volume gathers Lux's most mature work. At the same time, the collection, as a whole, records Lux's growth from his early surrealist efforts to a more wry and--sometimes--warmer humor. Among the more recent poems is the vibrant ""Towards,"" a love poem that fairly slides off the page: ""Towards you I'll take a sled, chariot (swing low),/ rent a llama. I'll run/ two miles, walk one,/ run two towards you, towards you/ I am on a sure course."" Such momentum and easy style mark most of the new work. Lux's early poems are generally denser and more cynical, working the poet's ear for language rather than narrative, as in ""Flying Noises"": ""He was absolved prematurely they forgot/ what he might do from the point/ of absolution to the next point what's it called."" In poems from 1986's Half Promised Land, Lux turns to the days of his childhood on a farm. The long poem ""Triptych, Middle Panel Burning"" shows flashes of brilliance and anger. ""It happened that my uncle liked to take my hand in his/ and with the other seize/ the electric cow fence."" So the poem begins, unfolding into an eloquent discourse on America, poverty, life and death. At its best, Lux's work is a heady mix of linguistic ease, pathos and gentle humor. (July)