Peter Pereira

In the tradition of medical-doctors-cum-poets like William Carlos Williams, physician Peter Pereira celebrates language in What's Written on the Body, his third published volume of poetry. Language in fact is one of the major themes that pervade the book, with a whole series of poems based upon such linguistic play as anagrams and synonyms. Such poetry, while clever, ultimately fails to satisfy once the reader's admiration for Pereira's admittedly impressive facility with wordplay wears off. Fortunately, however, the language-based poetry represents only a fraction of what the poet can do. Other works in the slim volume deal with his medical practice; nature; his relationships with his father, his partner, and other family members; and, occasionally, the intersection of his sexuality as a gay man and his profession as a medical doctor. My particular favorites are "Damn Fag," "Missing e," and "October Journal," three poems which display the range of the author's talent. Peter Pereira's What's Written on the Body is an enjoyable collection for readers who like contemporary American poetry.… (meer)