New Reviews: Poetry & Drama

Actor David Duchovny's day job kept him from completing his Ph.D. in literature, but his poetry is full of allusions to his extensive education. In his own reading of his work, the poems come across as deeply personal and honest, sometimes too much so when they fall into self-indulgence. But his fans will learn much about his interior life from this collection. The performance... Read More

The poet and critic Terrance Hayes named Patricia Smith the most important and interesting Black poet writing today. He didn't mention, however, the excellence of her performance of her work. This audiobook brings together her most recent poetry and a selection of older poems, giving the listener a fine idea of her career so far. Both the poems and Smith's readings are full of... Read More

Many poets, as they age, start writing more and more about death. Kevin Young, author and narrator of this collection, is only in his mid-50s, but his concern in these works is not only his own death. He thinks about that, of course, but also about the deaths of others and how people deal with the deaths of those they know and love. Young also attends to other issues; poems... Read More

Galileo had a daughter? Who knew? L.A. Theatre Works and playwright Jessica Dickey offer a fascinating glimpse of the renowned astronomer's world in this full-cast production. Galileo, who was condemned by the Church for his theory that the Earth revolves around the sun, is played with gentle ease by Gregory Harrison. His daughter, Maria Celeste, played with intelligent... Read More