Imperfect Love: Poems

While there are no ""important'' works in this poet's ninth collection, neither are there any mediocre ones. Williams presents a nosegay of poetic occasions that range from quick tickles bordering on the silly to dramatic monologues that are models of their kind. His characteristic wit and pungency are muted by a strong infusion of sentiment, particularly in several poems about his family. Despite the many walk-on appearances of cast-off humanity, as in ``On a Trailways Bus a Man Who Holds his Head Strangely Speaks to the Seat Beside Him,'' there is something homely and old-fashioned about this sampler of assorted verse. Its pleasure derives from its frank simplicity, its turned-down mood. These tame, kind and gentle poems are a tour de force of domesticity. (October)