Rothko

This ambitious "deconstruction" of both man and artist in the very act of his gashing forearms with a razor blade, is of interest to the scholar as well as the general reader, for it provides a fresh and compelling view into the psychology and motivations of one of our greatest Americans.

The other 4 long-poems in this volume provide another access to the general reader in particular, insight, that is, into the psyche of the poet himself-"Grove Street," a paen to a quiet suburban setting; "Mundtot," an investigation of the "mouth-death" or curtailment-of-verbal-expression in our own contemporary culture, an over-reliance on market in publishing circles as opposed to the more tangible political repression in the larger past, particularly Nazi Germany; "Beethoven's Teeth," the dark hole of the poet's often wayward consciousness, imagery courtesy of 20th Century's Francis Bacon; and "NORMAN Jack Turner," the concluding work, a requiem for a dear friend, dead of AIDS in 1996.

The 4 long-poems exist in their own right but also simply as an aside when juxtaposed to the power and originality of "Rothko" itself.