ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605060003
SECTION: BOOKS PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
THE DIFFICULT WHEEL. By Betty Adcock. Louisiana University Press. $17.95.
Over 900 books of verse are annually published in the U.S., so selecting a satisfying read may be a somewhat daunting task. However, Betty Adcock's fourth collection, "The Difficult Wheel," is a poetry book I'd recommend to, say, an aerospace engineer at my office who desires to sample contemporary verse.
Indeed, there is much to admire and enjoy in these 34 poems divided into three sections. Adcock's mature writing style rarely leaves, for instance, a slack or even weak line to stumble over or fuss about. The care of craft is richly evident. Moreover, her narrative poems remain accessible, refreshing since too much poetry today is obscure and self-indulgent.
That is to say, her poems actually make sense and evoke strong emotional responses. Such attention to physical details and vivid description emerges in "Voyages," a poem about young girls playing hooky to spy on an eccentric, old man building a sailboat in the middle of bone-dry Texas. The final line delivers the punch: "as if all around us were depths we really could drown in."
Adcock's mastery of keen diction, striking images and pleasant rhythms are displayed along with a gentle irony and patient humor.
Adcock touches basic human themes - marriage, aging, labor. Freshly-put insights engage our notice and reflection. A mower in "Illuminations" works until he's too old, which the poet tries to understand: "to look for him in riddles of our own."
All told, the excellence and skill of these poems should appeal to a wide audience.
Edward Lynskey lives in Warrenton.
Betty Adcock is a contributing editor of "Shenandoah," the literary journal published by Washington and Lee University.
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines KEYWORDS: INFOLINEby CNB