The Cruelties of Brooklyn

An amazing book that effortlessly poem by poem adds up to a novel. Unsparing vision of all the characters in the poet's childhood and adulthood that is nevertheless suffused with a love of humanity. With almost as few words as possible, Schaeffer conveys a world of meaning and abundance of detail, telling his outrageous stories. They are colorful, earthy, perceptive, empathic and brilliant. His intense realism lifts into the visionary: The coffin lid flew open / Her body so light / She lifted into the air / A white sheet escaping a clothesline. He mourns Aunt Helen "the last of the gang," but not before he immortalizes each and every one of them. His parents become as familiar to us as our own. Twin cameos: Dad Talking Honestly to Mom; Mom Talking Honesty to Dad. These poems were all written the year following the death of his mother who he misses: I want to call... Tell you I'm worried about something.