Catherine Barnett's first book of poetry, Into Perfect Spheres Such Holes Are Pierced, was stunningly reviewed; it was also awarded the 2003 Beatrice Hawley prize. Her followup, The Game of Boxes, has been greatly anticipated, and is likely to garner congratulatory praise of its own.
Barnett explores the theme of love in its most intimate forms. In some poems, the unifying connection seems to be one of familial love. A series of poems, each titled "Chorus," is written from the viewpoint of children, while other verses clearly depict a deep maternal perspective:
The night is covered
in books and papers and child
and I like having him here,
sleeping loose and uninhibited.
The subject of the poetry shifts easily into an exploration of a more physical form of love. Some poems demonstrate the erotic push and pull, as well as the give and take, of man and woman:
Though I can't sleep neither could I wake,
and when you spoke I heard only the come-on
hard-on voice of this is how I'll do it to you so I moved away,
I wanted you to leave.
Short and tight, all of Barnett's poems are purposeful--and often powerful. The Game of Boxes is a book the reader will want to return to after the first perusal, as the carefully chosen language, imagery, and intent of each poem may open up more broadly with subsequent glances. --Roni K. Devlin, owner, Literary Life Bookstore