This is excellent poetry. It is also one of the most unusual poetry collections I have read. It begins with the biological: graphic poems about the human body. The body being dissected in a Victorian anatomy theater, for instance. Or pieces written in response to various anatomical paintings and illustrations. The imagery is startling, sometimes gruesome in its frankness, but fascinating.

And there is an interesting effect on the reader when the poems in the collection move from the biological to the aesthetic (the later part of the collection) . She responds to the body in art, such as, one of Klimt's unfinished works.

I kept looking at this collection every time I went into the bookstore until I finally bought it. When I started it, I thought I wouldn't like it, wouldn't finish it. But I have and I do. Her use of language and imagery is impressive. Some of it is just brilliant. ( )