moral bankruptcy or vacuous self-importance. A poet in complete possession of a viewpoint is a force to be reckoned with. As no one who has studied poetry can ever be entirely innocent of technique again, I will conclude with the observation that Baldwin's blank verse is uncontrived. Her cadence, as the author of "Threadbare's" introduction, Barbara Munk-Buxton notes, is that of speech. Her poems are primarily narrative, with a lyric sense of painting pictures on the way, and transitions reminiscent of movements in music, often ending on a sudden discord. The knack of saying enough and no more encompasses style and content. While I thought a few poems might improve with whittling, it would not be worth the exercise if it damaged the life in them. I heartily recommend the book to anyone who expects and desires to laugh and cry over their poetry.

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