Poetry. Distinct, clear, and free of flourishes, Max Winter's debut collection of poems, THE PICTURES, examines war, boredom, death, love, decay, happiness, and worship through a series of moving and still images. In one poem, from a group of moving pictures, three soldiers bide their time in a barren landscape, awaiting destruction; in a still picture, a group of stonesinvite us to pay closer attention to them; in another still picture, a woman stands with her mouth open, fists clenched, words unimportant. Sight is unmysterious but wondrous in this book; the poems demonstrate that to look at something or to read it is to experience it, along with its attendant sadness or joy. The pictures collected here are communicative andprofound, quick to read but long to develop.